Oscar Piastri secured pole position for the sprint race in Qatar on Friday. The Australian clinched the top spot with a new lap record at the Losail International Circuit. After the race, he seemed visibly relieved to have proven himself the fastest once again. Since the Dutch GP at Zandvoort, the Australian hasn’t held pole position. Piastri is still in the running for the world title; he is level with Max Verstappen, trailing Lando Norris by 24 World Championship points.
“It’s good to be back,” said a relieved Oscar Piastri from the cockpit of his McLaren. Not much later, he joked that it’s good to be at the front again. “It’s been a good day,” Piastri laughed during the traditional grid interview. “It’s nice to have a change for once. Everything came together from the first moment. The whole session went very well, and in the end, it was enough for pole.”
“So far, the car feels really good,” Piastri continued optimistically. “I have to thank the team for that. So yes, I’m very happy with this.” The Australian also set a new lap record in Qatar; with a time of 1:20.055, he will start from the first position on Saturday. However, his lap was not flawless. During the regular qualification, he hopes to sharpen his time a bit. “I think I should be able to get under one minute and twenty seconds,” he grinned. “We’ll see if that’s going to work. For now, I’m just satisfied with this result; it’s always good to start from pole position.”
