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F1 star reveals Verstappen won race after getting 'PLASTERED'

One driver was still able to showcase their skill despite hitting the tiles

Becky Hart

Wednesday 6 December 2023 09:12

Oscar Piastri has admitted that he was once beaten at 200mph by a rival likely sporting a monster hangover – world champion Max Verstappen.

The Australian enjoyed a series of firsts in his rookie season. He grabbed his first victory, albeit in a sprint rather than a full race, and his first grand prix podium.

The McLaren man also raced at a host of new tracks for the first time and got a handle on his first wet-weather race.

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Piastri's standout weekend was in Qatar, where the Australian announced himself to the world of F1.

After grabbing a slightly disappointing P6 in qualifying, he managed to score pole in the sprint shootout and went on to claim victory in the Saturday dash – one of the very few occasions Max Verstappen was beaten full stop in 2023.

But in coming home second, Verstappen did enough to claim his third straight championship crown – and duly hit the tiles to celebrate in style. Not that that slowed him down come Sunday, when he won the main event in 42-degree heat.

Oscar Piastri won the Sprint in Qatar for McLaren

But Max Verstappen fought back to triumph in the main event

A 'decent' night out

"We were speaking about that in the cooldown room actually, so I was very aware I got beaten by someone who had a decent night out," Piastri told the Eff Won with DRS podcast, after the host claimed Christian Horner told him that Verstappen had gotten 'plastered' the night before the race.

"But when you win a world championship it is warranted, so I can't say I wouldn't do the same if I was in his position."

Considering the sapping conditions of that race, with many drivers requiring hospital treatment afterwards, Verstappen's performance deserves even more praise.

But considering that Piastri's sprint victory was one of only two instances all season where the Red Bull was beaten – the other being Carlos Sainz's victory in the Singapore Grand Prix - the rookie deserves nothing but credit for his performance.

Red Bull Max Verstappen McLaren Oscar Piastri