Oscar Piastri is dissatisfied with the course of his qualification in Las Vegas. The Australian driver was, according to his own account, on track for a good result in Q3 of the decisive session for the race, until a yellow flag threw a spanner in the works. Piastri now starts the Grand Prix in the desert city from fifth place, while title rival Lando Norris starts from pole.
While teammate and closest title rival Lando Norris secured his sixteenth pole position in Las Vegas, Oscar Piastri once again has to settle for a starting position further back in the field. The Australian starts the main event in the desert city from fifth place, after a late yellow flag – caused by Charles Leclerc – forced him to abort his fast lap in Q3. Meanwhile, Norris was three-tenths faster than the entire field.
Piastri is quickly asked after the session what exactly went wrong during the crucial final moments of his qualification. “I got a yellow flag and then it was pretty much over,” the McLaren driver responds soberly, to F1TV. “We were fast, there’s no doubt about that – but somehow it doesn’t seem to be going the way I want at the moment. At least I can say that the pace was good – it felt pretty good in Q3, but there were just a few things (that went wrong, ed.) beyond our control.”
‘Hard to Accept’
The slump of the man from Melbourne seems to continue in Vegas. Piastri has not finished on the podium in any of the last five races, while his teammate has four podium finishes and two victories to his name. Yet the Australian does not feel that his ‘bad luck’ is a recurring theme. “In this session (in Las Vegas, ed.) it indeed did not go as I had hoped, but there have been plenty of things that did go to my liking,” the driver continues. “I therefore do not feel that it is some kind of recurring theme, so to speak. It’s hard to accept, because it seemed like we were on track for a good result. Unfortunately, there’s not much I can do about it.”
