Even though Max Verstappen continued his winning streak and Ferrari got themselves on the podium after a long time, Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri made most of the headlines after the Belgian GP race. The two drivers made contact in Lap one, and as a result, got their races jeopardized. As Sainz blamed Piastri’s inexperience for the clash, Pietro Fittipaldi, the grandson of Emerson Fittipaldi believes otherwise. Fittipaldi told F1 TV that the Ferrari driver was way too aggressive on Piastri.
Sainz and Piastri made contact at La Source of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit as they were jockeying for positions. In doing so, they suffered damages which forced the McLaren driver to retire after just one lap. While Piastri suffered damages to his rear end, Sainz’s SF-23 got a hole on the sidepod, which affected his movement severely.
A shame to have a solid race weekend end in a DNF, but we’ll take the positives for the second half of the season 💪 #BelgianGP 🇧🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/CMc1uMZxUM
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) July 30, 2023
The sidepod damage was similar to what Sergio Perez’s RB-19 sustained after he collided with Hamilton on Saturday. It was so significant that Ferrari reported they were having a five percent loss in aerodynamic performance. In the end, the Spanish driver also retired from the race. Following the conclusion of their respective races, both drivers had polarizing opinions and blamed each other for the incident. However, Piastri has the support of Fittipaldi, who solely blames Sainz for the crash.
Fittipaldi holds Carlos Sainz accountable for the collision
Fittipaldi, who is the current reserve driver for Haas shared his opinion on the clash after the race. He said that it was Sainz who was at fault for the collision, and not Piastri’s inexperience, like the Spaniard suggested.
Speaking about it, Fittipaldi said as per F1 TV, “I think it was Sainz who squeezed him a little bit there in my opinion. Because he locked up and he just turned in and Oscar was already there.”
The highs and lows of Spa. Early summer holiday for me. pic.twitter.com/IQM4cTGL6b
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) July 30, 2023
However, Fittipaldi also added that since it was the start of the race, it was tough to have control over such moments. In the end, irrespective of whose fault it was, Piastri’s otherwise splendid weekend ended on a sour note.
Oscar Piastri missed out on having a great weekend
Oscar Piastri has missed out on wrapping up his weekend in style after a promising beginning. As F1 goes to the summer break following the conclusion of the Belgian GP, a big points haul would have been perfect for him.
The 22-year-old driver has been splendid as of late, having performed strongly in Silverstone and Hungary. He was looking to continue his good form in Spa. The Melbourne-born driver was in P2 in the Sprint shootout and took home seven points after he finished the race in the same position.
However, the sad end to the Grand Prix race gave McLaren and their fans a huge shock. Nevertheless, his teammate Lando Norris’ P7 finish brought a sigh of relief for the fans. McLaren will now look to regroup over the course of the summer break, and come back even more strongly to finish the season on a high note.
