Piastri finished 13th at the chequered flag, having led the race before his pit stop.

However, a tangle with Carlos Sainz following a Safety Car restart forced him into the lane for a new front wing, and he plummeted down the order—a clash for which the Ferrari driver was penalised.

“We were both racing very hard,” Piastri said of the scrap with Sainz.

“I think for me, the thing with that penalty was he locked up towards the end of the braking zone and, without that, we would have both been fine.

“It could have easily been a racing incident or a penalty.”

Piastri had qualified sixth but rose to third in the opening exchanges before passing Charles Leclerc for second on Lap 4.

From there, the Australian shadowed race leader Max Verstappen, and took over out front for four laps following the Dutchman’s pit stop.

Events then did him no favours, with Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant crashing to draw the Safety Car.

Having run long in the opening stint, it fell perfectly for Lando Norris, who effectively gained a free pit stop out of the situation to move into the race lead.

Though a combination of McLaren’s improved pace, a tyre advantage over his nearest rivals, and track position, he was unheaded for the balance of the race as he won his first grand prix.

While Norris’ race went from strength to strength, Piastri’s unravelled following ins clash with Sainz.

A damaged wing cost him time and forced him into the pits, while Sainz had a five-second penalty added to his race time.

But while the race didn’t net the final result he’d hoped for, Piastri highlighted it as one of his best in F1.

“It was just one of my more competitive weekends,” he explained when asked by Speedcafe why he was so pleased with his performance.

“From the minute we hit the track I felt like I was comfortable.

“I felt like the pace was strong. The gap to Lando in qualifying was, I think Adea’s already said, was smaller than what the upgrades gave us.

“So from that point of view, I was very happy.

“I think until the Safety Car, it was going very week,” he added.

“A really good first lap, strong pace in the first hald of th e race and it was all just going well, really.

“For me, I felt like I ticked a lot of boxes.

“It’s just a shame that the history books will say I finished 13th.”