Oscar Piastri acknowledged that McLaren’s performance during the Italian Grand Prix qualifying wasn’t as strong as expected.
He will start Sunday’s race in third place, trailing Max Verstappen and teammate Lando Norris. Piastri was 0.190 seconds behind Verstappen, who set a new track record at Monza with a time of 1:18:792. Despite leading the drivers’ standings by 34 points, Piastri noted that competition has been tighter this weekend.
Piastri reflected on his qualifying session, stating, “Turn 1 was a little bit average, but the rest of the lap all felt pretty tight.” He felt he executed a good session overall, gradually building up his performance. However, he admitted that many teams have shown speed this weekend, including Red Bull. “It’s not been quite as comfortable for us,” he added, expressing a desire to be further up the grid.
Ferrari had a promising start in Monza but ended up on the second row with Charles Leclerc finishing fourth. Leclerc was two-tenths of a second behind Verstappen and expressed disappointment but not surprise at missing out on pole position contention. “We knew that the Red Bull and the McLaren had something more than us for this weekend,” Leclerc said.
Leclerc, last year’s Italian Grand Prix winner, felt his lap was strong and couldn’t have done much more in qualifying. He acknowledged the challenge of competing against Red Bull and McLaren this weekend. Despite this, he remains optimistic about his performance and looks forward to Sunday’s race.
Piastri remains confident about Sunday’s race despite qualifying challenges. He believes races can differ significantly from qualifying sessions and is hopeful for better results during the actual event. The Australian driver aims to leverage any opportunities that arise during the race to improve his position.
The Italian Grand Prix promises an exciting contest with several teams showing competitive pace throughout the weekend. As drivers prepare for Sunday’s race, fans anticipate an engaging battle on Monza’s iconic track.