Oscar Piastri has admitted that fortune played a part in him taking third place in Sprint Qualifying for the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver will start on the second row for the penultimate Sprint Race in 2025, having wound up three tenths down on the ultimate pace.
Piastri will line up right on the tails of his championship rivals, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, after what he described as a “scruffy” lap in SQ3.
He conceded that he wasn’t satisfied with his performance. Despite securing a place on the second row, he believes there was more time to find out on track.
“Yeah, in quite a few places,” Piastri said.
“[It was] a pretty scruffy lap, to be honest, I think I just didn’t really get it together.
“So, in some ways, I feel a bit fortunate to be third, but I think the pace in the car is good.”
Despite the rough qualifying session, Piastri is adamant that it isn’t detrimental to his weekend. He was quick to downplay any suggestions of frustration.
“It’s nothing major, it’s not like it’s been a disastrous day at all,” he added.
“It’s just been a little bit of a messy lap that I can hopefully tidy up tomorrow.”
McLaren’s dilemma
The talk of the weekend has been McLaren’s ‘repercussions’ post-Singapore.
On Thursday, both Piastri and his team-mate Norris emphasised to the media that the Briton would receive confidential ‘repercussions’ until the end of the season.
As Norris has qualified just one place ahead for Saturday’s Sprint, it has set the stage for yet another intriguing battle for the championship.
However, if McLaren is not careful in managing this intra-team battle, Verstappen could run away with yet another Sprint victory in 2025.
That’s why Piastri remains focused on his race start, naming Turn 1 as a crucial moment to make up ground on his two championship contenders.
“We’ll see what happens at the start,” Piastri mentioned.
“If I can get a good launch, then try and put myself in the right spot – knowing where the right spot is into Turn 1 here is often tricky – so I’ll see what happens up ahead.”
READ MORE – Oscar Piastri makes McLaren confession over Singapore clash
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