F1 title contender Oscar Piastri was ‘pretty happy’ with his P3 in the Sprint Qualifying for the São Paulo GP.
After a recent run of challenging races, Piastri lost the lead in the F1 Drivers’ Championship to teammate Lando Norris. For the São Paulo GP, the young Australian appeared to have regained some form, showing good pace in the sole practice session of the weekend.
In Sprint Qualifying for the São Paulo GP, Piastri continued to show good pace but couldn’t quite keep up with teammate and title rival Norris. By the end of the session, he slotted in P3, behind Norris and the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli.
Piastri happy with performance after a difficult run of races
Interviewed for the official F1 channel after the session, Piastri was ‘pretty happy’ with his performance, despite experiencing a few ‘big moments’ on his first lap.
“A little bit,” Piastri responded when asked whether the first sector cost him a bit of time on his final run. The Australian explained that the soft compound tyres felt different from what he had anticipated.
“I mean, the soft just was a bit different to what I expected.
“A couple of big moments on my first lap, which wasn’t ideal. That was a bit of a shame. But ultimately, I felt much happier today than the last couple of weeks.
“Practice went very well. I think Sprint Qualy we changed a few things, which took a little bit of getting used to again. But, ultimately, pretty happy.
“Would have liked a little bit more, but we can definitely fight with what we’ve got. And there’s obviously a lot more points on Sunday.”
Piastri is looking to make the most out of opportunities
There might be some rain on the horizon for tomorrow’s sprint race as well as Qualifying for the São Paulo GP, which could lead to unforeseen outcomes.
With the McLaren looking competitive and Piastri feeling much happier with the car following his recent struggles, the Championship runner-up is looking to make the most of any opportunity that presents itself.
The 24-year-old currently sits one point behind F1 Championship leader Lando Norris and will be looking to regain the lead he held for the majority of the season.
“It’s going to be an interesting day. Let’s see what weather we get. But yeah, I’ll try and take whatever opportunities there are.
“I think the pace in the car has been really good today. So hopefully that translates to whatever we get.”
