DOHA, Nov 30 : Oscar Piastri said it hurt more to finish second for McLaren in Qatar on Sunday than to be disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix a week earlier.

The Australian had qualified on pole position for Sunday's night race at Lusail, after winning the Saturday sprint, but a team strategy blunder cost him a win and knocked him from second to third in the Formula One championship.

McLaren decided not to pit their drivers when the safety car offered the chance of a cheap stop on lap seven, leaving them at odds with all the others bar one who took advantage in a fast race where two stops were mandatory.

That left Red Bull's four-times champion Verstappen right behind them but with a stop in the bag while McLaren still had two to make. He went on to win.

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