McLaren’s Oscar Piastri experienced a premature end to his Mexican Grand Prix Qualifying session after a costly error at turn 12 saw him eliminated in Q1. The Australian driver finished in P14, marking a disappointing Saturday after showing promising pace throughout practice sessions.
The crucial moment came during his final flying lap in Q1, where Piastri briefly showed purple sector times in the middle section before running wide at turn 12. The error not only resulted in his lap time being deleted but also cost him approximately a second in performance.
“I just tried a bit too hard in turn 12, and it bit me hard,” Piastri reflected after the session. “I lost pretty much a second, so I would have been comfortably through.”
The elimination was particularly frustrating for Piastri given his strong showing in the practice sessions leading up to qualifying. “FP3 was very strong, even FP2. FP1 I struggled a bit, but FP2 I think we made some really good changes, and I was comfortable. FP3 very comfortable as well, and even in qualifying I felt good, just a very silly mistake trying a bit too hard in Q1,” he explained.
Despite running McLaren’s newer specification parts, Piastri was quick to dismiss any suggestion that the upgrades contributed to his struggles. “Obviously, you hope your newer parts are quicker than your older ones. As far as I’m aware, they’re doing what they’re supposed to do,” he noted, adding, “it’s certainly not the same kind of upgrades that we’ve seen in the past, even for the floor. Yes, it’s a small time loss, but it doesn’t really matter when you make mistakes like that.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, Piastri remains optimistic about his chances of recovery, saying he plans to “Try and get back into the points and strongly into the points,” when asked about his target for the race. However, he acknowledged the challenge ahead: “I think it’s going to be tough because the field looks reasonably tight, I would say. But I think we’ve got some pace on board this weekend, so we’ll try and use it to get through.”
The young Australian concluded with an admission of his disappointment, saying, “At least I know where it all went wrong. But it still is painful to be stood here.”
