“I had nothing to gain”: Max Verstappen explains Oscar Piastri apology

Max Verstappen felt the need to apologize to Oscar Piastri after the 2024 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as he spun the Australian out on the opening lap. He stated that he had "nothing to gain" from the position and that the move was "not nice."

As the lights went out for the final time in 2024, Piastri held his P2 up to the first corner, when Verstappen attacked him from the inside but ended up making contact. This spun both drivers out and the McLaren dropped to the bottom of the grid, posing a major threat in the team's battle for the constructors' championship with Ferrari.

While Lando Norris was able to maintain his lead which gave the team its long-awaited title, Oscar Piastri finished in 10th place. Max Verstappen was penalized 10 seconds for the incident. While he seemed to defend himself as the race went on, he later apologized, mentioning he shouldn't have made the move.

"For me, the most important thing I had to do was apologize to Oscar," Verstappen told GPBlog. "Because I had nothing to gain, nothing to lose. I went for it. It didn't work out. I feel bad for him the most that we both spun. It’s not nice. He’s a friend of mine, so I want things to be good between us when we go into the winter break."

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Oscar Piastri mentions Max Verstappen's apology after the race at Yas Marina

Despite winning the constructors' championship, Oscar Piastri labeled the race as "miserable" owing to his first-lap incident with Max Verstappen. However, there was more to the Australian's bad luck in the race as he rammed into the back of Franco Colapinto, owing to which, the stewards awarded him a 10-second penalty. This was a major threat to McLaren's title.

"It was a pretty miserable race," Piastri said. "It's a massive credit to everyone at McLaren for what they have achieved this year. Couldn't be prouder of them all," Piastri noted. The championship win marked a crowning achievement for the Papaya outfit, a team that had successfully navigated the intricate dynamics of a highly competitive F1 season."

Later discussing Max Verstappen's move on him at the start of the race, Piastri was asked if the move was over-optimistic for the Red Bull driver. He replied positively, however, also mentioning that he came down to apologize after the race ended.

"Probably yes. But he came and apologized straight away and the stewards deemed it was a penalty."

This was McLaren's first constructors' championship since 1998. It was Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard who clinched the title for the team then. Notably, Norris and Piastri weren't even born at the time.