McLaren bosses have heaped praise upon the start Oscar Piastri has made to life as a Formula 1 driver despite a debut to forget.
The 2021 Formula 2 champion will have hoped to show off his considerable talent at the Bahrain Grand Prix, having waited for a year for his shot in the top category. But he never got the chance, hampered by a less-than-competitive car and a reliability issue.
His qualifying ended at the first hurdle, setting the 18th fastest time. And he would have been starting the race on the back row had it not been for the deletion of Pierre Gasly's fastest lap during Q1 for a track limits violation.
