After being eradicated from the primary section of qualifying for the primary time in 2024, Oscar Piastri says all of it got here right down to an error in flip 12.
The McLaren driver was knocked out in seventeenth, nearly two tenths of a second away from security. It was the primary qualifying session all season that Piastri failed to achieve Q3.
Piastri had began the session like workforce mate Lando Norris on the medium compound earlier than switching to delicate tyres after his first run. With recent delicate tyres, he ran broad at flip 12 on his first push lap, shedding seven tenths and having his time deleted for exceeding monitor limits. His ultimate effort was not ok to safe passage into Q2.
“The medium, I simply didn’t have a lot confidence on,” he defined after the session. “The primary delicate lap I used to be doing was very constructive, after which I simply went broad at flip 12. It was so simple as that.
“Then we tried to go once more, however I simply had zero grip as a result of the tyres have been too sizzling. So, disappointing.”
Norris went on to take third on the grid, whereas Piastri will begin 14 locations decrease on the grid. Final yr in Mexico, Norris rose from the identical place to complete fifth within the grand prix. Piastri is taking coronary heart from that heading into Sunday.
“I feel the automobile is excellent,” he stated. “It’s only a disgrace that now we have to start out from the again tomorrow. We’ll attempt to see what we are able to do. Satirically it was an analogous place for Lando final yr and he nonetheless had a very good race. So there’s nonetheless alternatives.”
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McLaren workforce principal Andrea Stella stated Piastri might be anticipated to attempt to emulate Norris’s restoration drive right here final yr from his beginning place.
“Definitely the automobile as we speak was performing effectively,” Stella informed the official F1 channel. “It was in situation, as we noticed with Lando, to compete for the primary couple of rows on the grid.
“With Oscar, one lap was deleted – which is a disgrace – after which within the different one, the tyre had overheated and he couldn’t pull collectively a aggressive sufficient lap. So one thing to look into. Definitely we may have completed higher than that. Ferrari, Verstappen, they have been fast as we speak, however we may have had the 2 automobiles up on the entrance of the grid. So one thing we’ll have a look at and evaluation.
“On the identical time, final yr with Lando, we have been just about in the identical place and we managed to do an important race, get well many positions and undoubtedly that’s the mission for Oscar tomorrow.”
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