Oscar Piastri is set to start the F1 Miami GP from P4 on the grid after he struggled to find extra pace in his McLaren when it counted. Less than two-tenths back from Max Verstappen on pole, P4 is Piastri’s worst qualifying result thus far. The championship leader has been massively successful over one lap and even better on Sundays, taking home three wins so far.
Piastri attributes his P4 finish to a lack of execution on his part
The projected three-way battle between the two McLarens and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was subverted by Kimi Antonelli pulling off P3. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were unable to answer to Verstappen’s 1:26.204 lap time throughout Q3.
In an interview with the print media following qualifying, Piastri addressed this slight lack of pace in Q3
“I mean, this afternoon was nothing to do with luck, it was just not the level of execution I needed to have in Q3.
“It’s never a great qualifying session when your best lap is the first lap of Q2, so there was quite a bit left on the table, just a few mistakes on both laps in Q3, which is a shame.”
Piastri broke down both of his hot laps in Q3, identifying sector two as a consistent problem area. The grid was struggling for grip the entire session. There was also minimal track evolution since rain on Saturday took away some rubber that had been laid down through the weekend.
“I mean, both laps of Q3 I struggled in Turn 1. I think I lost pretty much two tenths in Turn 1,and then my first lap of Q3, I gained it back a bit through the rest of Sector 1 and then fell away in the middle. The last one, I eventually recovered some of it at the end, but it wasn’t enough, so it was nothing to do with preparation, it was just execution of the driving, unfortunately.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, and questions surrounding McLaren’s dominance
Miami GP Qualifying has been Piastri’s worst starting position of the season. Just .171s separate the top four on the starting grid, in typical F1 2025 fashion. This close margin between the front-runners means that no one car is truly out of contention for the race win.
Piastri’s inability to extract the maximum from the car when it counted is his biggest takeaway.
“I think for me I’m not concerned about the pace I had today, it was just that unfortunately I didn’t use it when I really needed it. Yeah, I think after the lap in Q2 I just never quite got back into the same rhythm, and that was kind of the difference at the end.”
Currently sitting comfortably P1 in the constructor’s championship and P1 and P2 in the driver’s championship, Piastri claims there is still room for improvement. Piastri heavily hints that the qualifying pace of the McLarens needs to be addressed. The Aussie stated that they have some adjustments to make when it comes to driving at the maximum.
“There’s definitely still some things with our car that we want to try and address, and driving it right on the limit is one of them. I think this weekend it has had enough pace to be on pole, it’s just that I’ve not done as good a job as I should have, unfortunately.
“It’s always been tight, the gap’s always been close, and potentially our advantage has been a little bit more on Sundays, but I think our picture of where we stand has always been that if we make mistakes, we’re going to be beaten, and that’s been true for the year.”
Coming into Sunday, the Miami GP looks to be anyone’s race to win with such a close margin. Less tyre degradation and potential cooler temperatures could point to a McLaren advantage. However, the Miami International Autodrome is not the easiest track to pass at and qualifying is crucial. Piastri and the McLarens still look to be the heavyweights going into the Miami GP, but there’s still all to play for.
“The tyres have behaved a bit better than most people expected, I would say, compared to last year. I think that might help us out a little bit, but qualifying is still going to make a massive difference for tomorrow, so it’s not going to be easy to make progress, but I’m confident in the time that we’ve got.”
