Oscar Piastri, a driver for the McLaren Formula 1 team, expressed his disappointment with his performance in the qualifying session for the Australian Grand Prix. Despite outperforming his teammate Lando Norris in earlier practice sessions, Piastri made too many errors during his Q3 runs, resulting in a sixth-place finish. However, both McLaren drivers will move up one position on the grid due to a penalty for Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. Reflecting on his performance, Piastri acknowledged his mistakes and the need for better preparation. He also highlighted the challenge of getting the tires to the right temperature at the Albert Park Circuit, which has been a struggle for all drivers.
Piastri acknowledges that it will be challenging to improve his position from where he starts the race. However, his main goal is to finish ahead of both Aston Martin and Mercedes cars. He believes that they showed good performance in their race simulations, but the cars ahead of them also looked strong. To surpass Red Bull and Ferrari, they will need to find something extra or rely on luck. Piastri hopes to maintain his starting position and not lose ground during the race. He acknowledges that this may be optimistic, but he is satisfied with the progress they have made compared to the previous rounds, as they seem to be faster than Mercedes and Aston Martin at this circuit.
Piastri anticipates that the race will be strategic due to Pirelli’s aggressive choice of Softest compounds for this weekend. Based on the condition of the tires after FP2, he believes that no one had an easy time with them. This will make the race interesting and emphasize the importance of tire management. Additionally, the teams have not yet used the Hard tire, so its performance remains unknown. Piastri expects a different dynamic compared to the previous race in Saudi Arabia, where outright pace was crucial. He believes that this presents opportunities for both his team and the other teams around them.