Oscar Piastri narrowly missed out on claiming pole position for Saturday’s Miami Grand Prix sprint event, attributing his slim 0.045s deficit to a critical error in the final corner of his last qualifying lap.
The McLaren driver had been one of the standout performers throughout Friday’s Sprint Qualifying session, but a lock-up into the Turn 17 braking zone during his last-gasp flyer proved costly.
The error benefitted 18-year-old Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who produced a record-breaking lap to become Formula 1’s youngest-ever polesitter.
Piastri’s late effort landed him second, with McLaren teammate Lando Norris a further half-tenth back in third.
"I had a lock-up into the last corner, which I think was probably where pole went away," the Aussie explained. "P2 is still a good result, we can still fight from there in the sprint tomorrow.
Indeed, the championship leader remains optimistic about his chances of challenging for the win on Miami’s evolving street circuit.
"All in all, pretty happy. I think we've got a bit more pace to unlock, hopefully," Piastri added.
"I'm feeling positive still and I'll be trying to make up a spot tomorrow in the sprint before we get stuck into where the big points are."
Team-mate Lando Norris also came close to toppling Antonelli’s time but ultimately settled for third, just a tenth shy of the teenager’s benchmark.
After a string of recent frustrations in qualifying, Norris was satisfied to put together a clean lap and is encouraged by the performance level of the McLaren.
"It felt good. I'm happy just to get a good lap in there. It was close, so not much more I could ask for," said the Briton.
"Today's performance was, I think, in a good ballpark. Obviously, not good enough, but it shows how close it is, shows how quick the Mercedes are and both of us behind.
“A bit of a job to do for the sprint race tomorrow, but close enough that we can still try and aim for a pole tomorrow."
McLaren’s one-lap form suggests they’ll be in the mix again for Saturday’s Grand Prix qualifying, while the short sprint race earlier in the day presents a clear opportunity for both drivers to apply pressure on Antonelli and potentially reclaim the top step.
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