Oscar Piastri will start tomorrow’s race from second position alongside Max Verstappen.
La McLaren missed out on a pole position that, after the third practice session, had seemed almost certain. On the Saudi night, the fastest on Saturday was Max Verstappen, who beat Piastri by just 10 thousandths of a second. The Australian driver finished second, while Norris couldn’t do better than tenth place due to a crash that prevented him from setting a lap time in Q3..
Piastri, speaking to Formula 1’s official broadcasters, commented on his qualifying session: “I’m pretty happy with my lap, there wasn’t much more to gain. I’m pleased with the job I did. In the first part of qualifying we had to chase a bit, and then that last lap felt like the best I could do. I think Max did a good job. On this high-speed circuit, they seem to have a bit of an edge, but everything is still to play for tomorrow.”
The Australian McLaren driver then added: “Our pace is good, it’s going to be a tough race. The tyres will be softer compared to last year and we’ll see if we can use that to our advantage. It’s tough out there — when you’re that close to the limit it’s easy to go over. It’s a tricky track, at night, with soft tyres and such high grip — it’s one of the best tracks we race on. A great circuit, and tomorrow should be a fun race.”
Photo: X McLaren F1 Team
