Piastri says Spanish Grand Prix win was what he needed
Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri said winning Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix was what he needed after losing out to McLaren teammate Lando Norris over the previous two weekends.
"It's been a great year and this weekend's been exactly the kind of weekend I was looking for," the Australian said after his fifth win in nine races.
"We executed everything we needed to when it counted and that's all you can ask for. The team gave me a great car once again. It's a lot of fun winning races at the moment."
The victory, the seventh of the 24-year-old's career, stretched Piastri's lead over second-placed Norris to 10 points after the Briton reduced it to three with his triumph in Monaco last Sunday.
Norris also finished second at Imola, the race before Monaco won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, with Piastri third.
The Australian led from pole position in Spain, the top slot on the grid secured by the biggest margin of the year so far, after also topping the practice times at the Circuit de Catalunya.
"It's definitely up there," Piastri said when asked whether it was his strongest yet in Formula One.
"I don't know if it's the best one, but certainly it's been a strong one. It's pretty hard to complain with the results we've had this weekend.
"The effort that's gone in, and analysing some of the things from last week that we could have done better, I think we turned it around very nicely and got back to the form we wanted to be on."
Norris, winner of two races this year so far, said he did not feel he had lost anything.
"I think Oscar drove a very good race today and had a good day yesterday. I had the pace to go with him but not enough to try and catch up and put him under threat," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The South African
2 hours ago
- The South African
Virat Kohli fulfils IPL dream as Bengaluru claim first title
Batting great Virat Kohli fulfilled an 18-year dream of winning an IPL title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru after they beat Punjab Kings by six runs in Tuesday's final in Ahmedabad. Kohli's 43 from 35 balls at the top of the order set up Bengaluru for an imposing total of 190-9 which was one big blow too many for a Punjab side that battled until the end, finishing on 184-7. More than 91 000 fans packed into the 132 000-capacity stadium, a sea of Bengaluru's red and Kohli's jersey number 18 dominating the stands as chants of 'Kohli, Kohli' rang out. They celebrated noisily when Kohli and RCB clinched victory for the first time in the 18 years of the IPL, their three previous finals having all ended in defeat. The 36-year-old Kohli, one of India's all-time greats in all formats of the game, collapsed on the ground after the win and then got up to be hugged by his teammates as the crowd celebrated their hero. 'This win is as much for the fans as it is for the team, it's been 18 long years,' said Kohli. 'I've given this team my youth, my prime, my experience. I gave it everything I have. 'I never thought this day would come. I was overcome with emotion as soon as the last ball was bowled. 'I have stayed loyal to this team, no matter what. My heart is with Bangalore, my soul is with Bangalore and this is the team I'll play for till the last day I play the IPL.' Punjab put up a feisty response to the Bengaluru total but faltered in their chase after left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya took 2-17 from his four overs. Shashank Singh hit a valiant 61 not out and finished with three sixes and a four off Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood who defended 29 runs in the final over. Hazlewood, who took 3-21 against Punjab in last week's qualifier win after recovering from a shoulder injury, struck first to send back left-handed Priyansh Arya for 24 with Phil Salt taking a stunning catch at the ropes. Impact substitute Prabhsimran Singh was the next to go off Pandya but the Bengaluru crowd went wild when Romario Shepherd had skipper Shreyas Iyer caught behind for one. Pandya stuck again to cut short Australian wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis' stay on 39 and Bengaluru seized momentum and Shashank's late blitz was not enough. 'I am very proud of each and every individual who has participated in this team,' said Iyer. 'There are a lot of youngsters who are playing their first season, they've shown a lot of fearlessness. We wouldn't be here without them. Kudos to them.' Bengaluru had the perfect start as 'King Kohli' dug in. Far from his fluent best, he only struck three fours during his innings but in the end it turned out to be key. He lost opening partner Salt for 16 when New Zealand quick Kyle Jamieson struck in his first over to have the England batter caught in the deep off Iyer. Virat Kohli top-scored for Bengaluru with 43 © Arun SANKAR / AFP Kohli, who was his team's best batter this season with 657 runs including eight half-centuries, anchored the innings, sharing important partnerships with Mayank Agarwal, who made 24, and then skipper Rajat Patidar, who hit 26. But Punjab kept chipping away with wickets as leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal got Agarwal and Jamieson trapped the captain lbw. Kohli's vigil ended when he mistimed a rising delivery from Afghanistan pace bowler Azmatullah Omarzai for a caught and bowled, the disappointment etched across his face mirrored by his fans. Jamieson took his third wicket to cut short Liam Livingstone's rampant 25 off 15 balls. Wickets kept tumbling as wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma fell for a 10-ball 24 and Romario Shepherd for 17 off nine balls. Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh took three wickets including Shepherd in the 20th over and gave away just three runs. The 18th edition of the world's richest cricket league ended nine days late due to a pause caused by the military conflict between India and Pakistan. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
IOL News
3 hours ago
- IOL News
'Emotional' Kohli fulfils IPL dream as Bengaluru claim first title
Batting great Virat Kohli fulfilled an 18-year dream of winning an IPL title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru after they beat Punjab Kings by six runs in Tuesday's final in Ahmedabad. Image: IPL/Facebook Batting great Virat Kohli fulfilled an 18-year dream of winning an IPL title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru after they beat Punjab Kings by six runs in Tuesday's final in Ahmedabad. Kohli's 43 from 35 balls at the top of the order set up Bengaluru for an imposing total of 190-9 which was one big blow too many for a Punjab side that battled until the end, finishing on 184-7. More than 91,000 fans packed into the 132,000-capacity stadium, a sea of Bengaluru's red and Kohli's jersey number 18 dominating the stands as chants of "Kohli, Kohli" rang out. They celebrated noisily when Kohli and RCB clinched victory for the first time in the 18 years of the IPL, their three previous finals having all ended in defeat. The 36-year-old Kohli, one of India's all-time greats in all formats of the game, collapsed on the ground after the win and then got up to be hugged by his teammates as the crowd celebrated their hero. "This win is as much for the fans as it is for the team, it's been 18 long years," said Kohli. "I've given this team my youth, my prime, my experience. I gave it everything I have. "I never thought this day would come. I was overcome with emotion as soon as the last ball was bowled. "I have stayed loyal to this team, no matter what. My heart is with Bangalore, my soul is with Bangalore and this is the team I'll play for till the last day I play the IPL." Name a better duo... We'll wait. Image: IPL/Facebook Punjab put up a feisty response to the Bengaluru total but faltered in their chase after left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya took 2-17 from his four overs. Shashank Singh hit a valiant 61 not out and finished with three sixes and a four off Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood who defended 29 runs in the final over. Hazlewood, who took 3-21 against Punjab in last week's qualifier win after recovering from a shoulder injury, struck first to send back left-handed Priyansh Arya for 24 with Phil Salt taking a stunning catch at the ropes. Impact substitute Prabhsimran Singh was the next to go off Pandya but the Bengaluru crowd went wild when Romario Shepherd had skipper Shreyas Iyer caught behind for one. 'King Kohli' Pandya stuck again to cut short Australian wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis' stay on 39 and Bengaluru seized momentum and Shashank's late blitz was not enough. "I am very proud of each and every individual who has participated in this team," said Iyer. "There are a lot of youngsters who are playing their first season, they've shown a lot of fearlessness. We wouldn't be here without them. Kudos to them." Bengaluru had the perfect start as 'King Kohli' dug in. Far from his fluent best, he only struck three fours during his innings but in the end it turned out to be key. He lost opening partner Salt for 16 when New Zealand quick Kyle Jamieson struck in his first over to have the England batter caught in the deep off Iyer. Kohli, who was his team's best batter this season with 657 runs including eight half-centuries, anchored the innings, sharing important partnerships with Mayank Agarwal, who made 24, and then skipper Rajat Patidar, who hit 26. But Punjab kept chipping away with wickets as leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal got Agarwal and Jamieson trapped the captain lbw. Kohli's vigil ended when he mistimed a rising delivery from Afghanistan pace bowler Azmatullah Omarzai for a caught and bowled, the disappointment etched across his face mirrored by his fans. Jamieson took his third wicket to cut short Liam Livingstone's rampant 25 off 15 balls. Wickets kept tumbling as wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma fell for a 10-ball 24 and Romario Shepherd for 17 off nine balls. Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh took three wickets including Shepherd in the 20th over and gave away just three runs. The 18th edition of the world's richest cricket league ended nine days late due to a pause caused by the military conflict between India and Pakistan. AFP
eNCA
4 hours ago
- eNCA
Former finalist Kyrgios out of Wimbledon with injury
LONDON - The 2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios said that he will miss this year's tournament and the grass-court season after "a small setback" on his latest injury return. The 30-year-old Australian has played very little tennis over the last two years because of various injuries, notably a wrist problem that required surgery. In March at the Miami Open he won his first singles match since 2022 but he pulled out of the ongoing French Open, where he had been down to play men's doubles, with a knee injury. "I've hit a small setback in my recovery and unfortunately won't make it back for grass season this year," he wrote on Instagram. "I know how much you've all been looking forward to seeing me out there and I'm genuinely sorry to disappoint." Kyrgios, whose undoubted talent has often been overshadowed by his fragile temperament, added: "This is just a bump in the road though and I'm already working hard to get back stronger than ever." Kyrgios reached the final at Wimbledon three years ago before going down in four sets to Novak Djokovic. The third Grand Slam of the year starts on June 30.
