Oscar Piastri has admitted that he is “happier” with his McLaren at Formula 1‘s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, despite missing out on the front row for the Sprint Race.
Piastri was unable to rival his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, who continued his recent rich run by producing two laps good enough to claim pole position.
But while the 0.175-second gap between the McLaren duo allowed Andrea Kimi Antonelli to condemn him to third, Piastri was upbeat about his own showing.
The Australian, who ceded the points lead last time out in Mexico with his fourth consecutive race without a podium, revealed he is more at ease at Interlagos.
When asked whether lost time in the opening sector thwarted him, Piastri responded: “Yeah, a little bit. The Soft [tyre] just was a bit different to what I expected.
“A couple of big moments on my first lap, which wasn’t ideal.
“Yeah, that was a bit of a shame, but ultimately, I felt much happier today than the last couple of weeks when practice went very well.
“I think Sprint Quali changed a few things, which took a little bit of getting used to again.
“But yeah, ultimately pretty happy. Could have liked a little bit more, but we can definitely fight and there’s obviously a lot more points on Sunday.”
Piastri is hoping that his increased confidence in McLaren’s package in Brazil will also translate into race trim, even with the weather looking unpredictable.
“It’s going to be an interesting day,” he previewed. “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.”
READ MORE – Lando Norris takes dominant pole position for F1 Brazil GP Sprint
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