Photo: McLaren F1 Team Oscar Piastri’s inaugural visit to the Circuit of the Americas in the Formula 1 World Championship ended in an unfortunate manner when the McLaren rookie was forced to retire the car during the early portion of Sunday’s feature race.
A frantic start to the United States Grand Prix saw the Victorian make up a number of places in the opening laps but was lucky to avoid serious disaster after contact with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
Initially, there was reported to be minimal damage to Piastri’s McLaren until lap 11, where he was dealt a cruel blow when asked to retire the car due to radiator damage that was discovered to be from the earlier incident.
The premature end to the race concluded what was a somewhat uncharacteristic weekend for the 22-year-old, who had struggled throughout the entirety of the weekend.
The destringed sprint weekend format saw him qualify in 10th for the feature race on Friday, before improving to fifth in the Sprint Shootout the following day.
However, despite the improved result, he was unable to make an impact in the Sprint Race after falling down the order to finish in 10th.
Unfortunately, the results weren’t much better for the returning Daniel Ricciardo – who would finish last of all runners in his first appearance since injuring his hand at the Dutch Grand Prix.
While the result wasn’t ideal on paper, the return to the track was a great sign for the West Australian after it was recently confirmed he would return alongside Alpha Tauri teammate, Yuki Tsunoda for the 2024 campaign.
There were another two young Aussies in action in Texas with Tom Sargent and Bayley Hall taking part in the final round of Porsche Carrera Cup North America.
It was a weekend to remember for Sargent who would ultimately claim a maiden series pole position early in the weekend and was then able to convert it into two podium finishes to ensure he finished second for the year in the championship.
A great performance in race one saw Sargent finish second behind the recently crowned champion, Riley Dickinson before he was able to make it back-to-back podiums with third place in race two.
“Stocked to get such a great result in the debut year as a team and get second in the championship,” Sargent said.
“2023 has been a great year for me, what I have learnt about the car, the racing, the industry has been incredible and I can’t wait for next year.
“I’m really excited to see what opportunity arise for next year for me in 2024.”
Meanwhile, while the results didn’t go Hall’s way, the Queenslander showed great potential in what was only his second appearance in the one-make Porsche category.
Hall was the second fastest driver in practice early in the weekend before an impressive qualifying session saw him finish inside the top 10.
Unfortunately, a spin in race one saw him finish in 17th before having to retire the car due to a radiator issue late in race two. Despite the results, it was a great weekend for the young driver.
“The fans and atmosphere at the F1 in COTA was unreal. Unfortunately it all went downhill results wise but it was a great opportunity to push my limits and challenge myself in a foreign championship.”
“It was an opportunity that I have to thank my family for who continue to make sacrifices to keep my dream alive. And the USA crew of 8Twelve Wheels and McElrea Racing who made this come to fruition.
Keyword: Tough weekend for Aussies in Austin