As McLaren battles to clinch their first Constructors’ Championship since 1998, the season finale at the Yas Marina Circuit offers a glimmer of hope. Lando Norris secured a commanding pole position for the team, with Oscar Piastri close behind in second place, setting McLaren up for a thrilling showdown that could define their season.
Piastri’s near miss
Piastri, who finished just 0.209 seconds behind Norris and a mere two-hundredths of a second shy of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, had his first lap in Q3 deleted, only to see it reinstated. He then rallied to finish in the second spot, completing McLaren’s lock-out of the front row.
Reflecting on his final lap, Piastri was candid about the missed opportunity, admitting it wasn’t his cleanest attempt; saying, “It wasn’t the best final lap.”
“There were a couple of corners that I definitely would like to have again, but I’ll take the front row. It’s been a bit of a tricky few weekends in qualifying, so the result at least is nice.”
“But, I knew that there was a couple of places immediately where I left a bit on the table. So, nope, that’s how it is at the top end of the sport. You can’t leave anything there because you’ll get eaten alive.”
“And, unfortunately, I did that today, and that’s why I’m not on pole. So, I probably wish I had that one again.”
Recalling his close call with the deleted lap, Piastri added, “I knew starting the lap or even leaving the pits that that lap was at least on the board again. But I knew that I would need more to keep at least that position, or I obviously want to go for pole.”
“So I knew I needed more anyway. And I found a bit more, just not quite enough. So, it was a slightly stressful few minutes. I was also – I didn’t really dwell on it too much, but I did think I was in. Clearly, it was so close that they’ve probably given me the benefit of the doubt. But, it didn’t – it wasn’t exactly ideal.”
Piastri on the tight battle for the title
Looking at the title race, Piastri acknowledged the fierce competition, with McLaren holding just a 21-point lead over Ferrari, noting the close margins throughout the session.
He also admitted that the general pace of the grid was surprising, continuing, “I think it is extremely tight and not just with the teams we expected it to be tight with. You’ve got a pretty jumbled-up grid the whole way through.”
“Haas have looked very quick at points. Obviously, Hulkenberg’s on the second row. I think our pace through practise was – we almost felt it was a bit too good to be true.”
“And I think when we got to qualifying, that was potentially the case a bit. I think there’s no questioning that we’ve clearly had a strong car and the strongest this weekend. But it was all coming a little bit too easily to believe in practise.”
“So we still had our work cut out for us. Q1 and Q2 weren’t as straightforward as we would have liked as a team, I think. But, Q3 was a little bit more comfortable again.”
“Yeah, a 1-2 was nice, but I definitely didn’t think this was guaranteed going into the week.”
A historic moment for McLaren
Speaking on the team’s chance of winning the constructors’ championship, he expressed how it would be the culmination of his journey with McLaren, noting its ups and downs throughout the last two years.
“It will be very special if we can pull it off. You obviously don’t want to speak about it too much before the race. Even in my two seasons with the team, we’ve gone on quite the rollercoaster from the team principal change before my first race.”
“The car was a bit slower than what I thought I’d signed up for. And then from one weekend to the next it seemed, it went from being struggling to get into the points to almost being able to fight for a podium. So I think even for myself, it would really mean a lot.”
“And I think McLaren’s come close a few times. But never had this kind of opportunity in the last 25 years. So it would be very, very special to be one of the two drivers to bring McLaren back to the top and be part of that next chapter of history.”
