Oscar Piastri was “a little scared” that he was going to sustain a premature exit in Sprint Qualifying at the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix prior to claiming pole position.
Max Verstappen’s unbeaten run over a single lap since 2020 at Spa-Francorchamps was curtailed as Piastri went 0.477 seconds quicker to beat the Dutchman’s time.
Verstappen usurped the initial benchmark that Lando Norris had laid down, but his time at the top was short-lived as Piastri in the sister McLaren soon displaced him.
However, Piastri risked missing out on SQ3 when his opening attempt in the second session was removed as the stewards deemed that he had exceeded track limits.
But while the Australian clocked a valid lap the next time round, there were improvements elsewhere in the closing stages that left him right on the cusp in 10th place.
Piastri has admitted that he was relieved to have progressed through what proved to be a minor setback to deliver on the huge promise that he had shown in practice.
“It was a good lap,” Piastri reflected.
“A little scared in SQ2 with the lap deletion, but no, the car’s been mega all day, and I feel like I’ve been able to put in a lot of good laps.
“So, thanks to the team, the car’s been great, and this is a track I love. It’s my favourite one of the year and, I don’t know, maybe that gave me a couple of extra tenths!
“But no, it’s always good fun around here and when the car’s handling as well as it is today, it’s a pleasure.”
Piastri reveals start concern
Piastri will line up on the front row alongside Verstappen, whose Red Bull RB21 has been set up with a less loaded rear wing to optimise his speed down the straights.
With McLaren opting to go in an opposite direction, Piastri has recognised that he might be vulnerable against Verstappen on the Kemmel Straight on the opening lap.
Asked how he thinks the contrast in directions will transpire, Piastri replied: “I need to go and look. The Red Bulls were very quick in a straight line in practice.
“I don’t know if that was the same in Sprint Qualifying, but that makes life difficult and Spa is probably the worst track to have pole position at.
“So let’s see and I’ll go and have a look. But I think the pace in the car is really strong and I’ve felt good today, so hopefully we can have a good day tomorrow.”
READ MORE – Oscar Piastri takes F1 Belgian GP Sprint pole with emphatic lap
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