Oscar Piastri failed to uphold McLaren’s honor in Saudi Arabia. Despite several strong free practice sessions, the papayas were unable to secure the pole position. Max Verstappen clocked the fastest time during the qualifiers, with Oscar Piastri trailing behind him at P2. The Australian was satisfied with his performance, knowing he couldn’t squeeze much more out of the MCL39. Teammate Lando Norris ended up at P10 after a severe crash.
“If I have to be honest, I’m just satisfied,” Oscar Piastri said after the qualifiers in Jeddah. “I couldn’t get much more out of that last lap, so I’m quite happy. We were a bit behind during the qualifiers, but it didn’t get better than that last attempt. Max just did a fantastic job,” Piastri congratulated his competitor. “This is, of course, a high-speed track – maybe Red Bull also benefits from that – but that doesn’t take anything away from Max’s performance today.”
‘Still Shaking’
“We still have plenty to prepare for tomorrow,” he continued. “It promises to be a tough race. The tires are softer than last year, so I’m curious to see how much that will play a role, and whether it might work in our favor.”
“Furthermore, this is just an incredibly tough circuit,” Piastri said. “Once you lose your rhythm, it’s incredibly difficult to get back into the flow. You have to take all the corners perfectly. If you don’t, it affects the next six corners,” he grinned. “So it’s definitely a tough track, but the combination of artificial light, the soft track, and the enormous amount of grip makes it one of the best circuits on the calendar. That also means a lot of adrenaline – I’m still a bit shaky from the speeds. That being said, it should be a beautiful race tomorrow,” he concluded.
