Oscar Piastri will start in fourth place at the São Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday. After a costly crash during the sprint race on Saturday, he also had to concede to teammate Lando Norris in the qualifiers. While the Brit secured pole position, Piastri had to settle for the fourth-fastest time. The Australian describes it as a ‘challenging session’ and hopes for a comeback during the main event in Brazil.
“It was a challenging session,” Piastri sighed. “The conditions were very difficult.” He had hoped that the track would get faster as the sessions progressed, but that was not the case. “After Q1, it didn’t get much better,” he admitted. “That made it difficult to find that last bit of pace and push the limit. In the end, I didn’t get everything out of it – it was just tough.”
Piastri hopes for a comeback on Sunday. With Lando Norris in pole position, he will have to make up some places to limit the damage in the world championship. A podium finish would already be a good result for the 24-year-old driver, who hasn’t stood on the podium since the Italian Grand Prix. “Tomorrow, all I can do is try to gain some positions,” Piastri said. “It depends on how high the pace is, but luckily the car has felt fast all weekend. Hopefully, I can use that to my advantage tomorrow.”
