Piastri: Confidence, not Sprint crash, behind poor COTA qualifying

F1 championship leader Oscar Piastri was left scratching his head after qualifying only sixth for Sunday’s US Grand Prix, admitting he never found the confidence needed to unlock the full potential of his McLaren MCL39 at the Circuit of the Americas.

Coming off a bruising morning that saw him punted into teammate Lando Norris by Nico Hülkenberg at the start of the Sprint race, the Australian endured another tough session in the afternoon, ending up on the third row of the grid, well behind pole-sitter Max Verstappen and Norris in second.

Piastri, who has been the picture of composure through much of the season, admitted that Austin’s demanding layout exposed his struggles with rhythm and trust in the car.

“I think, today, just getting in the rhythm with the car,” he told reporters when asked what he was missing in the session. “It’s a track that is tough and you need a lot of confidence on, and there’s a lot of corners to make you pay for it if you don’t have that feeling.

“I feel like yesterday there was a few kind of relatively clear opportunities to try and find.

“But today, it felt like my laps were, maybe not the best laps of my life, but, you know, in line with laps I’ve done before, just unfortunate lap times.”

Despite hopes that McLaren’s MCL39 would thrive in the warmer Texan conditions, Piastri said he simply couldn’t build the level of comfort required to push to the limit – a sharp contrast to Norris, who extracted more pace to line up on the front row.

Sprint Crash Not to Blame

After the Lap 1 clash in the Sprint left both McLarens battered and out of contention, there was speculation that the repairs might have affected Piastri’s performance. But the Australian dismissed that theory outright.

“Ah, no, I don’t think so,” he said. “The car was back in one piece and, as far as I’m aware, set up how we intended.

“It all felt normal, just the kind of behavior that we’ve had a couple of times through the season came out to play again today.”

Piastri also pointed to a recurring issue this season – struggling to carry confidence through slower corners and losing small but costly chunks of time across multiple parts of the lap.

“I haven’t seen yet, but, I think it’s just a little bit in a lot of places, really,” he explained. “When you don’t have the confidence in the car around a place like this with so many corners, you can lose a lot of time in a little bit of time in a lot of corners. That’s what I felt like.”

• Read also: Norris left frustrated after qualifying by ‘impossible to drive’ McLaren

Despite the disappointment, Piastri isn’t writing off his Sunday chances. Known for his sharp racecraft and steady temperament, the 24-year-old believes there will be plenty of room to fight back in Austin’s unpredictable conditions.

“Try and have a good start and, um, and see how many places we can make it through,” he said. “That’s the best thing I can try and do.”

For McLaren, Saturday’s results were a mixed bag – Norris in the fight for victory, Piastri searching for answers.

But with his championship lead still intact and plenty of racing ahead, the Australian will aim to rediscover the confidence that has carried him to the top of the standings.

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