Oscar Piastri qualified third for the Italian GP on Saturday, only behind teammate Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. Despite the speed of his McLaren, the Australian struggled in Monza. According to Piastri, the margins were too small, especially now that he has to start behind title rival Norris. He is aware that the title is still far away in this manner.
Interviewer Nico Rosberg asked Piastri what went wrong in his last lap after the qualification. “Nothing special, the first corner wasn’t very good, but the rest of the lap was quite neat,” he replied somewhat relaxed. “I feel like I had a good session, I really built up to these last few laps. Unfortunately, the margins were just too small this weekend. Max and Red Bull looked fast all weekend – actually, everyone looked fast. In that respect, it’s no surprise, but of course, I would have liked to finish a bit higher.”
Rosberg then asked him about his title chances. Is he getting scared now that the championship leader was slower than his closest rival? “In such a lap you just go for it, you have no idea what the rest is going to do,” Piastri responded soberly. “Afterwards, of course, you start to doubt with the championship in mind, but I will just have to do my very best tomorrow. I still want to win a number of races. It was all just a bit more difficult this weekend, but everything can still change in the race. I’m looking forward to it.”
