
McLaren expect Piastri to turn hurt to his advantage
The pair are now only eight points apart at the top, with Piastri finishing second to home hero and crowd favourite Norris on Sunday but still heading the standings at the halfway point in the season.
"I will use the frustration to make sure I win some more races later," an unhappy Piastri said after a 10 second penalty for braking heavily behind the safety car scuppered his chances just when he seemed set to triumph.
Team boss Andrea Stella suggested Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who took evasive action that carried him illegally ahead of Piastri momentarily, had made the Melburnian's offence look worse than it was.
"We'll have to see if other competitors kind of made the situation look worse than what it is, because we know that as part of the race craft of some competitors definitely there is also the ability to make others look like they are causing severe infringement when they are not," said the Italian.
"So a few things to review but now the penalty has been decided, has been served, we move on.
"I think we will see if there is anything to learn on our side and I'm sure Oscar will use this motivation for being even more determined for the races to come and trying to win as many races as possible."
McLaren are galloping away with both titles, with their insistence that it is not a two-horse race sounding increasingly hollow.
Reigning champion Verstappen is still third but now a massive 69 points behind Piastri while McLaren have scored more than twice as many points as closest rivals Ferrari and are 238 clear.
"Oscar is a very fast, very strong, very determined driver," said Stella.
"He proved that (on Sunday), it didn't lead to a win but I'm sure it will lead to many more wins this season already."
To put it into perspective, McLaren have scored more points than Ferrari and third-placed Mercedes combined. The 460 points is also more than the 392 scored by the remaining seven teams together.
Piastri has won five times, Norris four and McLaren have had five one-two finishes in 12 races.
If they continue at their present rate of scoring, McLaren will eclipse last year's points haul of 666 long before the end of the campaign.
Drivers now have a weekend off before the championship battle recommences at the Belgian Grand Prix, the start of the second half of the season.
McLaren's CEO Zak Brown said: "It is just the midseason, many more opportunities and I think this (result) will give Oscar even more motivation."
McLaren expect Australia's championship leader Oscar Piastri to turn British Grand Prix hurt to his advantage as the Formula One title battle with teammate Lando Norris gets increasingly intense and rivals are left trailing.
The pair are now only eight points apart at the top, with Piastri finishing second to home hero and crowd favourite Norris on Sunday but still heading the standings at the halfway point in the season.
"I will use the frustration to make sure I win some more races later," an unhappy Piastri said after a 10 second penalty for braking heavily behind the safety car scuppered his chances just when he seemed set to triumph.
Team boss Andrea Stella suggested Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who took evasive action that carried him illegally ahead of Piastri momentarily, had made the Melburnian's offence look worse than it was.
"We'll have to see if other competitors kind of made the situation look worse than what it is, because we know that as part of the race craft of some competitors definitely there is also the ability to make others look like they are causing severe infringement when they are not," said the Italian.
"So a few things to review but now the penalty has been decided, has been served, we move on.
"I think we will see if there is anything to learn on our side and I'm sure Oscar will use this motivation for being even more determined for the races to come and trying to win as many races as possible."
McLaren are galloping away with both titles, with their insistence that it is not a two-horse race sounding increasingly hollow.
Reigning champion Verstappen is still third but now a massive 69 points behind Piastri while McLaren have scored more than twice as many points as closest rivals Ferrari and are 238 clear.
"Oscar is a very fast, very strong, very determined driver," said Stella.
"He proved that (on Sunday), it didn't lead to a win but I'm sure it will lead to many more wins this season already."
To put it into perspective, McLaren have scored more points than Ferrari and third-placed Mercedes combined. The 460 points is also more than the 392 scored by the remaining seven teams together.
Piastri has won five times, Norris four and McLaren have had five one-two finishes in 12 races.
If they continue at their present rate of scoring, McLaren will eclipse last year's points haul of 666 long before the end of the campaign.
Drivers now have a weekend off before the championship battle recommences at the Belgian Grand Prix, the start of the second half of the season.
McLaren's CEO Zak Brown said: "It is just the midseason, many more opportunities and I think this (result) will give Oscar even more motivation."
McLaren expect Australia's championship leader Oscar Piastri to turn British Grand Prix hurt to his advantage as the Formula One title battle with teammate Lando Norris gets increasingly intense and rivals are left trailing.
The pair are now only eight points apart at the top, with Piastri finishing second to home hero and crowd favourite Norris on Sunday but still heading the standings at the halfway point in the season.
"I will use the frustration to make sure I win some more races later," an unhappy Piastri said after a 10 second penalty for braking heavily behind the safety car scuppered his chances just when he seemed set to triumph.
Team boss Andrea Stella suggested Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who took evasive action that carried him illegally ahead of Piastri momentarily, had made the Melburnian's offence look worse than it was.
"We'll have to see if other competitors kind of made the situation look worse than what it is, because we know that as part of the race craft of some competitors definitely there is also the ability to make others look like they are causing severe infringement when they are not," said the Italian.
"So a few things to review but now the penalty has been decided, has been served, we move on.
"I think we will see if there is anything to learn on our side and I'm sure Oscar will use this motivation for being even more determined for the races to come and trying to win as many races as possible."
McLaren are galloping away with both titles, with their insistence that it is not a two-horse race sounding increasingly hollow.
Reigning champion Verstappen is still third but now a massive 69 points behind Piastri while McLaren have scored more than twice as many points as closest rivals Ferrari and are 238 clear.
"Oscar is a very fast, very strong, very determined driver," said Stella.
"He proved that (on Sunday), it didn't lead to a win but I'm sure it will lead to many more wins this season already."
To put it into perspective, McLaren have scored more points than Ferrari and third-placed Mercedes combined. The 460 points is also more than the 392 scored by the remaining seven teams together.
Piastri has won five times, Norris four and McLaren have had five one-two finishes in 12 races.
If they continue at their present rate of scoring, McLaren will eclipse last year's points haul of 666 long before the end of the campaign.
Drivers now have a weekend off before the championship battle recommences at the Belgian Grand Prix, the start of the second half of the season.
McLaren's CEO Zak Brown said: "It is just the midseason, many more opportunities and I think this (result) will give Oscar even more motivation."
McLaren expect Australia's championship leader Oscar Piastri to turn British Grand Prix hurt to his advantage as the Formula One title battle with teammate Lando Norris gets increasingly intense and rivals are left trailing.
The pair are now only eight points apart at the top, with Piastri finishing second to home hero and crowd favourite Norris on Sunday but still heading the standings at the halfway point in the season.
"I will use the frustration to make sure I win some more races later," an unhappy Piastri said after a 10 second penalty for braking heavily behind the safety car scuppered his chances just when he seemed set to triumph.
Team boss Andrea Stella suggested Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who took evasive action that carried him illegally ahead of Piastri momentarily, had made the Melburnian's offence look worse than it was.
"We'll have to see if other competitors kind of made the situation look worse than what it is, because we know that as part of the race craft of some competitors definitely there is also the ability to make others look like they are causing severe infringement when they are not," said the Italian.
"So a few things to review but now the penalty has been decided, has been served, we move on.
"I think we will see if there is anything to learn on our side and I'm sure Oscar will use this motivation for being even more determined for the races to come and trying to win as many races as possible."
McLaren are galloping away with both titles, with their insistence that it is not a two-horse race sounding increasingly hollow.
Reigning champion Verstappen is still third but now a massive 69 points behind Piastri while McLaren have scored more than twice as many points as closest rivals Ferrari and are 238 clear.
"Oscar is a very fast, very strong, very determined driver," said Stella.
"He proved that (on Sunday), it didn't lead to a win but I'm sure it will lead to many more wins this season already."
To put it into perspective, McLaren have scored more points than Ferrari and third-placed Mercedes combined. The 460 points is also more than the 392 scored by the remaining seven teams together.
Piastri has won five times, Norris four and McLaren have had five one-two finishes in 12 races.
If they continue at their present rate of scoring, McLaren will eclipse last year's points haul of 666 long before the end of the campaign.
Drivers now have a weekend off before the championship battle recommences at the Belgian Grand Prix, the start of the second half of the season.
McLaren's CEO Zak Brown said: "It is just the midseason, many more opportunities and I think this (result) will give Oscar even more motivation."
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The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Queen of the Giro mountains: Aussie Gigante wins again
Australian cycling star Sarah Gigante has won a second stage in her dream Giro d'Italia week to move into a podium spot -- and she's not ruled out a dramatic last-day triumph in the great race. Just three days after the recording the biggest win of her flourishing career in the mountainous fourth stage, the 24-year from Melbourne pulled off an even more remarkable win in the penultimate seventh stage in the Umbrian Apennines on Saturday. It shot the euphoric Gigante into third position in the overall standings, just one minute 11 seconds adrift of Italian race leader Elisa Longo Borghini, who took the pink jersey off Swiss Marlen Reusser by 22 seconds. That's left Gigante still dreaming of an unlikely triumph after Sunday's final eighth stage, a 130km route between Forlì and Imola. "I'm still a bit far back in the general classification, but I'll give it a go tomorrow," said the AG Insurance-Soudal rider. "Obviously, will be hard to defend that lead, but we'll try." Gigante was all smiles after an interviewer suggested following her second stunning triumph -- this time in the race's most demanding 'queen stage' -- that she might now like to be called the 'princess of the mountains'. "The princess? Yeah, sure - or the queen!" she responded with a laugh. Gigante left the home fans stunned when she broke away from the pack on the final climb of the 150km route from Fermignano to Monte Nerone to catch their hero, stage leader Longo Borghini, with three kilometres to go. She then powered away to annex the stage win by 45 seconds, recording the fastest time ever by a woman rider on the Monte Nerone ascent. "I had studied the final climb and decided to attack on the steep section. I wanted to show that stage four-win wasn't just a one-off, but that I came to Italy to achieve great results," she said. This exciting talent had surgery last year to fix Iliac artery endofibrosis, a debilitating condition that occurs when high blood flow and repetitive hip flexion cause the artery to narrow. Last year's Tour Down Under winner in Adelaide has snared three senior national road titles, but these four days have represented the highlight of her career. "I knew I felt really good," she said, when she decided to attack Longo Borghini. "I saw on my Garmin, there was a little flat section, and then it went steep again. "And I knew she was pretty tired after being out there a while, and I felt good -- so I went for it, although I was dying a thousand deaths in the last kilometre because it was so steep. "It's really special moving into the GC podium place," added Gigante, who had been sixth overnight and is now also lying second, just a point behind Spain's Usoa Ostolaza, in the Queen of the Mountains standings. "That's really special. It's my first year. I did the Vuelta last year, and I finished 19th, and then I was seventh on the Tour (de France). So if I can come home with third place overall this week, then I'd be very happy." Australian cycling star Sarah Gigante has won a second stage in her dream Giro d'Italia week to move into a podium spot -- and she's not ruled out a dramatic last-day triumph in the great race. Just three days after the recording the biggest win of her flourishing career in the mountainous fourth stage, the 24-year from Melbourne pulled off an even more remarkable win in the penultimate seventh stage in the Umbrian Apennines on Saturday. It shot the euphoric Gigante into third position in the overall standings, just one minute 11 seconds adrift of Italian race leader Elisa Longo Borghini, who took the pink jersey off Swiss Marlen Reusser by 22 seconds. That's left Gigante still dreaming of an unlikely triumph after Sunday's final eighth stage, a 130km route between Forlì and Imola. "I'm still a bit far back in the general classification, but I'll give it a go tomorrow," said the AG Insurance-Soudal rider. "Obviously, will be hard to defend that lead, but we'll try." Gigante was all smiles after an interviewer suggested following her second stunning triumph -- this time in the race's most demanding 'queen stage' -- that she might now like to be called the 'princess of the mountains'. "The princess? Yeah, sure - or the queen!" she responded with a laugh. Gigante left the home fans stunned when she broke away from the pack on the final climb of the 150km route from Fermignano to Monte Nerone to catch their hero, stage leader Longo Borghini, with three kilometres to go. She then powered away to annex the stage win by 45 seconds, recording the fastest time ever by a woman rider on the Monte Nerone ascent. "I had studied the final climb and decided to attack on the steep section. I wanted to show that stage four-win wasn't just a one-off, but that I came to Italy to achieve great results," she said. This exciting talent had surgery last year to fix Iliac artery endofibrosis, a debilitating condition that occurs when high blood flow and repetitive hip flexion cause the artery to narrow. Last year's Tour Down Under winner in Adelaide has snared three senior national road titles, but these four days have represented the highlight of her career. "I knew I felt really good," she said, when she decided to attack Longo Borghini. "I saw on my Garmin, there was a little flat section, and then it went steep again. "And I knew she was pretty tired after being out there a while, and I felt good -- so I went for it, although I was dying a thousand deaths in the last kilometre because it was so steep. "It's really special moving into the GC podium place," added Gigante, who had been sixth overnight and is now also lying second, just a point behind Spain's Usoa Ostolaza, in the Queen of the Mountains standings. "That's really special. It's my first year. I did the Vuelta last year, and I finished 19th, and then I was seventh on the Tour (de France). So if I can come home with third place overall this week, then I'd be very happy." Australian cycling star Sarah Gigante has won a second stage in her dream Giro d'Italia week to move into a podium spot -- and she's not ruled out a dramatic last-day triumph in the great race. Just three days after the recording the biggest win of her flourishing career in the mountainous fourth stage, the 24-year from Melbourne pulled off an even more remarkable win in the penultimate seventh stage in the Umbrian Apennines on Saturday. It shot the euphoric Gigante into third position in the overall standings, just one minute 11 seconds adrift of Italian race leader Elisa Longo Borghini, who took the pink jersey off Swiss Marlen Reusser by 22 seconds. That's left Gigante still dreaming of an unlikely triumph after Sunday's final eighth stage, a 130km route between Forlì and Imola. "I'm still a bit far back in the general classification, but I'll give it a go tomorrow," said the AG Insurance-Soudal rider. "Obviously, will be hard to defend that lead, but we'll try." Gigante was all smiles after an interviewer suggested following her second stunning triumph -- this time in the race's most demanding 'queen stage' -- that she might now like to be called the 'princess of the mountains'. "The princess? Yeah, sure - or the queen!" she responded with a laugh. Gigante left the home fans stunned when she broke away from the pack on the final climb of the 150km route from Fermignano to Monte Nerone to catch their hero, stage leader Longo Borghini, with three kilometres to go. She then powered away to annex the stage win by 45 seconds, recording the fastest time ever by a woman rider on the Monte Nerone ascent. "I had studied the final climb and decided to attack on the steep section. I wanted to show that stage four-win wasn't just a one-off, but that I came to Italy to achieve great results," she said. This exciting talent had surgery last year to fix Iliac artery endofibrosis, a debilitating condition that occurs when high blood flow and repetitive hip flexion cause the artery to narrow. Last year's Tour Down Under winner in Adelaide has snared three senior national road titles, but these four days have represented the highlight of her career. "I knew I felt really good," she said, when she decided to attack Longo Borghini. "I saw on my Garmin, there was a little flat section, and then it went steep again. "And I knew she was pretty tired after being out there a while, and I felt good -- so I went for it, although I was dying a thousand deaths in the last kilometre because it was so steep. "It's really special moving into the GC podium place," added Gigante, who had been sixth overnight and is now also lying second, just a point behind Spain's Usoa Ostolaza, in the Queen of the Mountains standings. "That's really special. It's my first year. I did the Vuelta last year, and I finished 19th, and then I was seventh on the Tour (de France). So if I can come home with third place overall this week, then I'd be very happy." Australian cycling star Sarah Gigante has won a second stage in her dream Giro d'Italia week to move into a podium spot -- and she's not ruled out a dramatic last-day triumph in the great race. Just three days after the recording the biggest win of her flourishing career in the mountainous fourth stage, the 24-year from Melbourne pulled off an even more remarkable win in the penultimate seventh stage in the Umbrian Apennines on Saturday. It shot the euphoric Gigante into third position in the overall standings, just one minute 11 seconds adrift of Italian race leader Elisa Longo Borghini, who took the pink jersey off Swiss Marlen Reusser by 22 seconds. That's left Gigante still dreaming of an unlikely triumph after Sunday's final eighth stage, a 130km route between Forlì and Imola. "I'm still a bit far back in the general classification, but I'll give it a go tomorrow," said the AG Insurance-Soudal rider. "Obviously, will be hard to defend that lead, but we'll try." Gigante was all smiles after an interviewer suggested following her second stunning triumph -- this time in the race's most demanding 'queen stage' -- that she might now like to be called the 'princess of the mountains'. "The princess? Yeah, sure - or the queen!" she responded with a laugh. Gigante left the home fans stunned when she broke away from the pack on the final climb of the 150km route from Fermignano to Monte Nerone to catch their hero, stage leader Longo Borghini, with three kilometres to go. She then powered away to annex the stage win by 45 seconds, recording the fastest time ever by a woman rider on the Monte Nerone ascent. "I had studied the final climb and decided to attack on the steep section. I wanted to show that stage four-win wasn't just a one-off, but that I came to Italy to achieve great results," she said. This exciting talent had surgery last year to fix Iliac artery endofibrosis, a debilitating condition that occurs when high blood flow and repetitive hip flexion cause the artery to narrow. Last year's Tour Down Under winner in Adelaide has snared three senior national road titles, but these four days have represented the highlight of her career. "I knew I felt really good," she said, when she decided to attack Longo Borghini. "I saw on my Garmin, there was a little flat section, and then it went steep again. "And I knew she was pretty tired after being out there a while, and I felt good -- so I went for it, although I was dying a thousand deaths in the last kilometre because it was so steep. "It's really special moving into the GC podium place," added Gigante, who had been sixth overnight and is now also lying second, just a point behind Spain's Usoa Ostolaza, in the Queen of the Mountains standings. "That's really special. It's my first year. I did the Vuelta last year, and I finished 19th, and then I was seventh on the Tour (de France). So if I can come home with third place overall this week, then I'd be very happy."


Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Queen of the Giro mountains: Aussie Gigante wins again
Australian cycling star Sarah Gigante has won a second stage in her dream Giro d'Italia week to move into a podium spot -- and she's not ruled out a dramatic last-day triumph in the great race. Just three days after the recording the biggest win of her flourishing career in the mountainous fourth stage, the 24-year from Melbourne pulled off an even more remarkable win in the penultimate seventh stage in the Umbrian Apennines on Saturday. It shot the euphoric Gigante into third position in the overall standings, just one minute 11 seconds adrift of Italian race leader Elisa Longo Borghini, who took the pink jersey off Swiss Marlen Reusser by 22 seconds. That's left Gigante still dreaming of an unlikely triumph after Sunday's final eighth stage, a 130km route between Forlì and Imola. "I'm still a bit far back in the general classification, but I'll give it a go tomorrow," said the AG Insurance-Soudal rider. "Obviously, will be hard to defend that lead, but we'll try." Gigante was all smiles after an interviewer suggested following her second stunning triumph -- this time in the race's most demanding 'queen stage' -- that she might now like to be called the 'princess of the mountains'. "The princess? Yeah, sure - or the queen!" she responded with a laugh. Gigante left the home fans stunned when she broke away from the pack on the final climb of the 150km route from Fermignano to Monte Nerone to catch their hero, stage leader Longo Borghini, with three kilometres to go. She then powered away to annex the stage win by 45 seconds, recording the fastest time ever by a woman rider on the Monte Nerone ascent. "I had studied the final climb and decided to attack on the steep section. I wanted to show that stage four-win wasn't just a one-off, but that I came to Italy to achieve great results," she said. This exciting talent had surgery last year to fix Iliac artery endofibrosis, a debilitating condition that occurs when high blood flow and repetitive hip flexion cause the artery to narrow. Last year's Tour Down Under winner in Adelaide has snared three senior national road titles, but these four days have represented the highlight of her career. "I knew I felt really good," she said, when she decided to attack Longo Borghini. "I saw on my Garmin, there was a little flat section, and then it went steep again. "And I knew she was pretty tired after being out there a while, and I felt good -- so I went for it, although I was dying a thousand deaths in the last kilometre because it was so steep. "It's really special moving into the GC podium place," added Gigante, who had been sixth overnight and is now also lying second, just a point behind Spain's Usoa Ostolaza, in the Queen of the Mountains standings. "That's really special. It's my first year. I did the Vuelta last year, and I finished 19th, and then I was seventh on the Tour (de France). So if I can come home with third place overall this week, then I'd be very happy."


Perth Now
4 hours ago
- Perth Now
Aussie Groves misses out on win at Tour de France
Queensland sprinter Kaden Groves has come his closest yet to winning a stage at the Tour de France but ran out of steam as he had to settle for third place on stage eight in Laval. The Australian speedster has taken up the No.1 duties for Alpecin-Deceuninck after Jasper Philipsen's crash on stage three ended his race, but he didn't have enough power to cope with two of the peloton's powerhouses, stage winner Jonathan Milan and runner-up Wout van Aert on Saturday. Groves, seeking his 10th Grand Tour victory after seven at the Vuelta a Espana and two at this year's Giro d'Italia, looked to have really lost his chance after he and Milan had brushed shoulders at a key roundabout just before the race denouement over the final uphill kilometre. The man from Gympie lost a couple of positions and then had to battle to get back into the frame, yet though he fought to get on the wheel of his superstar teammate Mathieu van der Poel and looked in a good position for the final attack near the barriers, he was out of gas as van Aert and Milan swept by. Groves' effort still matched the best result by an Australian in the 2025 race, following up Michael Storer's third place in Vire Normandie on Thursday. Italian Milan, one of the dominant sprint forces in the peloton, felt emotional about his first ever victory on the Tour after holding off van Aert by half a bike's length. He won in the green jersey that he was wearing on behalf of overall leader Tadej Pogacar, but the victory means he will now wear it on Sunday by rights as he moved to the top of the points classification. "I don't still understand what we did," said Milan, who was the first Italian stage winner since Vincenzo Nibali in 2019. "To come with some expectations, some dreams, but then to bring them home is two different things, but I was confident with the team. "It was a tough final, I have to say it was a bit stressful and I was not expecting it to drag up so much in the last kilometre. I had to wait as long as I could, but I like this kind of finale and I'm really happy for the world that we did. We really deserved it." There was no change in the overall standings, with double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel still the closest challenger to race leader Pogacar, 54 seconds adrift. Frenchman Kevin Vauquelin is third at 1:11 with two-time champion Jonas Vingegaard 1:17 behind in fourth. The leading Australian in the GC remains Jayco AlUla's Ben O'Connor in 20th place, 8:25 down on Pogacar. Groves will get another crack at a stage win on Sunday over a 158km flat stage from Chinon to Chateauroux, which has dubbed itself 'Cavendish City' this week in honour of the Tour's record stage winner Mark Cavendish, who took three of his 35 victories there.