Oscar Piastri says he lacks comfort and confidence in his McLaren at the United States Grand Prix after qualifying sixth and seeing Max Verstappen take further points from his championship lead.
Verstappen won the sprint race from pole as both McLarens were caught at the first corner and retired, reducing Piastri’s lead over the Dutchman to 55 points. Verstappen then took pole for the Grand Prix by over a quarter of a second ahead of Lando Norris, while Piastri was only sixth and in danger of seeing a major points change on Sunday.
“Just a tough session,” Piastri said. “I didn’t really feel comfortable there and I think the lap times show that… It’s still a long race tomorrow and a lot can happen, so I’ll try to make up some ground.
“[The car is] just a bit unpredictable. I think it was very tight for the positions ahead of me. Compared to yesterday it didn’t feel as comfortable or as fast, but yes, there are some things to try and look at and see why it was that way.
“A lot of corners… makes you pay for it if you don’t have that feeling. Yesterday there were a few relatively clear opportunities to try and find, but today I felt like my laps were maybe not the best laps of my life, but in line with the laps I’ve done before. Unfortunately the lap time didn’t come.”
McLaren had to repair both cars ahead of qualifying, but Piastri says he wasn’t worried about the Sprint incident hampering anything on his side of the garage.
“It was back in one piece and, as far as I know, set up the way we intended,” he said. “It all felt normal, the kind of behavior we’ve had a few times this season was… it came back out to play.”
Piastri also had time to watch the sprint collision with Nico Hulkenberg that put him into Norris at Turn 1, and felt he was within his rights to try to get back to the inside at the first corner.
“I think for me it’s a racing incident,” he explained. “I was well away from the top and I think the cars behind went quite deep into the corner. Could I have done something different? Maybe, but it would have been different to possibly let two or three cars pass.
“You can’t just drive around the outside of the track and let everyone take up all the space. I think you’re racing if you don’t feel like you’re getting too aggressive.”
#Piastri #feels #uneasy #McLaren #COTA #title #battle #intensifies #RACER