Piastri ‘confident to fight’ from P3 in Chinese GP Sprint despite ‘tough’ day for McLaren

Oscar Piastri is confident that he can be in the fight from P3 on the grid, ahead of the first Sprint of the season at the Chinese Grand Prix, despite admitting that taming the McLaren on the newly resurfaced track was “pretty tough” during Friday’s running.

After a solid performance from the reigning Teams’ Champions earlier on in Free Practice 1 – with Lando Norris topping the timesheets and Piastri slotting into third – McLaren looked to be the favourites entering into Sprint Qualifying later in the day.

And whilst the squad continued to show strong pace throughout the session, they ultimately missed out on taking Sprint pole in SQ3, with Piastri ending up in P3 ahead of Norris in P6 while Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen claimed the front row.

SHANGHAI, CHINA - MARCH 21: Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes on — Piastri will line up in P3 for the first Sprint of the season at the Chinese Grand Prix

Reflecting afterwards on how he had found Sprint Qualifying in Shanghai, Piastri admitted that trying an alternative strategy during the final segment of the session had not entirely worked in the team’s favour.

“I think [we were] probably quick at the wrong points, unfortunately,” the Australian explained. “SQ1 and SQ2 felt good, and then SQ3 we tried something a bit different and went out much earlier and tried two laps, which I’m not sure was the best thing in the end.

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“I think it’s something we need to have a look at, but I think the pace in the car is still very strong and I’m still confident to fight from third tomorrow.”

SHANGHAI, CHINA - MARCH 21: Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes — Piastri believes that McLaren have room for improvement on Saturday in Shanghai

Piastri went on to detail some of the challenges that he had faced with the MCL39 during Friday’s free practice, with the 23-year-old stating: “It’s been difficult with the track surface. It’s got a lot of grip, but it’s very peaky and I think it’s been pretty tough all day to just keep on top of the car.

“Honestly, I think we did a good job of trying to tame it for Sprint Quali, just maybe got the run plan a bit wrong. It’s been an interesting challenge, the grip’s been a lot better than last season which is nice, but I think there’s some things we can do better tomorrow.”

After sliding off track during treacherous conditions at last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix – resulting in him ending the race down in P9 – Piastri will be hoping to bolster his points tally this time around.