Piastri voices 'frustration' over Hamilton F1 battle

Oscar Piastri expressed frustration at his inability to pass Lewis Hamilton during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Piastri finished the race in fourth place, marking his best result since his podium finish in Qatar last year.

Throughout much of the race in Jeddah, the Australian driver trailed behind Hamilton's Mercedes.

Hamilton chose not to pit during a Safety Car period caused by Lance Stroll's crash on lap 7, prolonging his stint.

McLaren had earlier noted its straight-line performance deficiency compared to its competitors, especially in DRS zones.

This disadvantage became apparent as Piastri struggled to overtake Hamilton despite multiple attempts at Turn 1.

Piastri was finally able to advance when Hamilton pitted on lap 36, allowing him to cruise unchallenged to the finish line.

“I'm not sure fun is the word I would use [to describe the battle],” Piastri told media.

“Frustrating, yes. I think it kind of just showed a couple of weaknesses of ours, definitely.

“I was very relieved when he boxed out of the way. I just didn't quite have enough on the straights to get past.”

McLaren and Mercedes 'very even'

McLaren is presently in third place in the championship standings after the first two rounds, holding a two-point lead over Mercedes.

Piastri emphasizes that despite differing performance traits between the McLaren and Mercedes cars, the Jeddah race highlighted the tight competition between the two teams.

“I think it's very, very even,” he said. “We have different strengths and weaknesses, for sure.

“Qualifying made the difference. Lewis showed that if we qualified behind them, there was a good chance we were going to be stuck behind them for the whole night.

“So I think it's very, very tight between us. We need to do some work to try and jump them and catch the two teams ahead.”