Oscar Piastri joined Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in the cool down room after the Belgian Grand Prix, in which Max Verstappen was a notable absentee.
Oscar Piastri was as surprised as anyone to be sat in the cool down room without Max Verstappen for company after the Belgian Grand Prix.
Starting 11th on the grid because of an engine penalty, Verstappen faced an uphill battle but his record at Spa-Fran corchamps, and the fact he out qualified everyone else by more than half-a-second on Saturday, had everyone convinced he would be fighting for victory anyway.
But that wasn’t the case.
He cut through some of the traffic to finish fifth on the road – fourth in the end after original winner George Russell was disqualified – which meant he wasn’t present in the cool down room which is accessed only by those waiting to appear in the podium ceremony.
At first, Piastri and Lewis Hamilton were the only ones present, with Russell still celebrating with Mercedes colleagues.
And, as the seven-time champion wiped his face with a towel, the McLaren driver started the conversation.
He said: “I thought Max was going to be a bit quicker than that.”
Hamilton replied by enquiring where Verstappen had finished in the race, before Russell entered the room with a similar comment to Piastri’s and said:
“Surprised the Red Bulls didn’t come through more.”
Another podium for Piastri, on the back of his maiden win in Budapest a week earlier, marked a strong end to the first half of his season.
The 23-year-old has come into his own in his sophomore season on the grid, providing a stern test for not only team-mate Lando Norris but also the rest of his rivals.
And after collecting his trophy he spoke about how pleased he is with his own personal progression.
Piastri said: “Definitely, the last few weeks have been very strong from my side.
I think, honestly, the whole season has been pretty good.
