Piastri gives verdict over Baku qualifying after 'disappointing' mistake

Speaking about his qualifying after getting out of the car and heading to the interviews, the Australian driver commented: “I think today I felt much happier with the car and the job I was doing. It was just a bit difficult to get it all together—that was the biggest thing—but the potential was there. Whereas yesterday… arguable if it was.

“I think I was much happier today; just ultimately I think I tried a bit too hard. I haven’t actually looked at what I did differently because I didn’t feel like I did that much differently, but a tiny bit can make a massive difference. Obviously disappointed with how I performed.”

When asked if the mistake was due to the rain, Piastri added: “There was a bit of rain around, yes. So I don’t know if that contributed. I don’t know if I got a gust of wind. You know, I don’t know. But at the moment, I’ve never been the one to blame it on anything other than myself. And that’s what I’m going to stick with until I see something that tells me otherwise.

Finally, he said: “Having it this windy is very tough. You add in wind, tyre uncertainty, a little bit of rain, cold conditions on a street track like this… and that stuff’s going to happen, as you’ll see.”

McLaren struggled quite a bit this weekend, with Ferrari and Max Verstappen looking very strong over a single lap.

However, both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton compromised their own qualifying, while Norris seemed on course to at least secure a front-row start after his teammate’s mistake.

Norris had a great opportunity to seriously reopen the fight for the championship by qualifying on pole or at least near the front, but he too made a small mistake on his final attempt, nearly hitting the wall and ending up only seventh.

In an unfortunate qualifying, Piastri will therefore find his teammate just two positions ahead.

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