Excluded from the top 3, Piastri recognizes his mistakes in qualifying in Miami

Invariably subscribed to the head trio since the start of the season, Oscar Piastri has had a little stop in qualifying on Saturday at the Miami Grand Prix. Beaten by Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, but also by Kimi Antonelli, the leader of the championship will start fourth on the starting grid after having conceded 171 thousandths of the Poleman.

Do not seek no excuse, the Australian believes that he had not been up to what allowed him to achieve his McLaren, although the MCL39 is more delicate to master in the exercise of the rapid turn than to the race configuration.

“I didn’t do a good job, quite simply”he deplores. “There are clearly still things to improve on our car, and driving it at the limit is part of it. I think that this weekend, she had enough rhythm to sign pole, but unfortunately, I did not do the job as well as I should have.”

“The gaps have always been tight, and perhaps our advantage is a little more on Sunday, but we know from the start that if we make mistakes, we will be beaten. And that’s what happened to me today.”

“It was simply not the level of execution that I had to have in Q3. It is never a good sign when your best turn is that of the Q2. I left a lot on the way, with a few errors in the two laps of the Q3, it’s a shame.”

“On my two attempts, I had trouble in turn 1: I lost almost two tenths each time. It is not a preparation problem, just a question of driving at the wheel. I am not worried about performance, it’s just that I did not use it at the crucial moment. “

Beaten by Lando Norris in the Sprint race after suffering the consequences of the intervention of the safety car, Oscar Piastri does not expect an easy race. Leaving since the second line, his first mission will be to erase the Antonelli threat as much as possible, while the race is moving towards a single stop strategy if it is disputed on the dry.

“If the temperatures are high, it could play in our favor”hopes the McLaren driver. “But the result of the qualifications will still weigh heavy, so it will not be easy to go up. That said, I have confidence in our car.”