Oscar Piastri has dismissed that missing FP1 at Formula 1‘s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has hampered him too much as he concluded second practice down in 11th place.
Piastri was stationed on the McLaren pit wall during the opening practice hour at the Yas Marina Circuit as Pato O’Ward piloted the championship candidate’s MCL39.
The Australian returned to the cockpit in FP2, but a minor error on his quickest lap saw him end up outside the top 10, over six tenths behind team-mate Lando Norris.
But with the weekend’s opening session taking place in unrepresentative conditions, Piastri denied that his FP1 absence has compromised his weekend preparations.
“I got there pretty well on the Medium, just on the Soft I didn’t get the most out of the grip on that first timed lap,” Piastri said.
“So I’m finding my feet, I think. Clearly there’s some things to try and improve for tomorrow, but I think after just one session it’s not too bad.”
With Norris leading both sessions, Piastri is hoping that “small tweaks” to his car overnight can help him unlock the pace needed to be in the mix to take pole position.
“The car’s looked quick,” he acknowledged. “I just need to get some more laps under my belt and find my feet a bit more really, that’s all.
“So a few more laps tomorrow, a few more sets of tyres and hopefully we’ll be there.”
Norris not getting complacent despite encouraging start
Meanwhile, Norris, who can seal the championship with a podium, is not getting complacent despite boasting a three-tenth gap over title rival Max Verstappen in FP2.
“Obviously, from the times and everything, things are good at the minute,” he assessed.
“But I still want a bit more from the car. I’m not completely happy, not completely confident.
“We’re a bit in the middle of trying some different things and trying to understand some things with the car. So hopefully there’s some more stuff we can get out of it overnight.
“It’s not been a bad day, for sure, it’s been a positive day. But we always know it gets a lot closer going into quali, so nothing to smile about just yet.”
READ MORE – Max Verstappen sceptical of Red Bull pace at F1 Abu Dhabi GP
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