Oscar Piastri claimed that his lost Qatar Grand Prix win was more painful than McLaren's double disqualification from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
After starting from pole position, the Australian driver just had to make it through the first few corners before making the most of a track with limited overtaking opportunities to bring home the victory.
But while the rest of the grid capitalised on taking their first pitstops during the early safety car, McLaren opted to keep both drivers out.
Those who pitted on lap 7 then had no choice but to pit again on lap 32 due to the mandated 25-lap limit on the tyres for the race at the Losail International Circuit.
McLaren argued that, firstly, it was not aware that the rest of the grid would pit, and secondly, that pitting on lap 7 would have given it no flexibility on strategy for the remainder of the race. This ended up being the wrong call for the Woking outfit.
Piastri finished the race in second with Lando Norris in fourth.
"Pretty high and I think that's saying quite a lot given the last few races I've had," Piastri said during the press conference about his frustration after the race.
"I mean, clearly, we didn't get it right today, which is a shame because the whole weekend went very, very well. We had a lot of pace."
When asked what hurt more, the Las Vegas Grand Prix disqualification or his lost win in Qatar, he added: "I think on a personal level, I feel like I've lost a win today. In Vegas, I lost the P4. Obviously, for the team, it's a pretty painful weekend. But I think for me personally, this probably hurts more."
As a result of the Qatar Grand Prix, Piastri was overtaken in the drivers' standings by Verstappen. Heading into the season finale, Norris leads by 12 points over Verstappen, and Piastri follows the Dutchman with four points between them.
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