F1 News
Piastri left worried by Ferrari's pace: 'We didn't plan for that'
Oscar Piastri is starting to feel the pressure after being out-qualified by Mercedes, Ferrari and even an Alpine as the constructor's title battle heats up. Piastri will start the Las Vegas Grand Prix in eighth place as he qualified seven tenths behind the Mercedes of George Russell. In the paddock after the session, the McLaren driver reflected on the result. He hopes that McLaren can limit the damage this weekend before their pace improves in the final two rounds.
The Australian was asked in the paddock if he was worried about Ferrari's pace in Sin City. McLaren's closest rivals in the constructors are 36 points behind them and will start from second and fourth tomorrow, whilst McLaren will start from sixth and eighth. "I'd say it's more concerning to have an Alpine in front of us, in front of all of us, to be honest. Clearly, Gasly's been quick the last few weekends now, I think that's three or four weekends in a row where he's been very quick in qualifying. I think we expected Ferrari to be quick. I think we didn't expect Mercedes to be so quick. I think that's been a surprise for us. But I'm not too concerned. It's a long race tomorrow. A lot can happen, as we saw last year," Piastri explained.
Mercedes have excelled in the colder conditions, which has suited their W15. George Russell will start tomorrow's race in pole position. Lewis Hamilton will start from 10th, but made a mistake some errors in the final part of qualifying and was unable to put a decent lap together. The seven-time world champion is expected to cut through the field in tomorrow's night race. On the other end of the spectrum, McLaren seems to be struggling with the chilly Nevada nights.
Piastri hopes McLaren 'should be better' in the final two races:
The two-time Grand Prix winner is hoping that things can only get better for McLaren after Las Vegas. "I think until Q3, we've been pretty happy with how we've been relative to Ferrari. It's just we didn't plan that extra step. But yes, this is probably the track that we expect them to be the quickest on. But we can't just take for granted that… We can't just say this will be our worst and the next two will be much better for us because if they're not, then that's not good news. I think on paper, when you look at the average, yes, we should be a bit better in the next two, but I don't think it's a given, that's for sure." The Australian concluded.
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