Oscar Piastri has shot down suggestions that his F1 championship lead over Lando Norris influenced his approach in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix, after securing third on the grid behind Max Verstappen and Norris.
The Australian holds a 34-point advantage after his seventh victory of the season at Zandvoort, while Norris’ race ended prematurely with a chassis problem.
Asked if his sizeable lead made him think about “damage limitation,” Piastri was clear:
“When you’re on the lap, you’re going for it and you’re going for pole. You don’t know what anyone else is going to be able to pull off. At the moment, yes, you’re going flat-out. Obviously afterwards, it creeps in a little bit but there’s still a long way to go and I will try and make up some spots tomorrow as I would like a few more wins if I can.”
Not surprised by Red Bull pace
Unlike Zandvoort, where McLaren dominated, the pole fight at Monza featured several teams. Ferrari looked sharp in practice, but Verstappen climbed to the top in Q3.
Reflecting on his best Q3 lap, Piastri said:
“Nothing major. Turn 1 was a little bit average but the rest of the lap felt pretty tidy. I executed a pretty good session. I built up to it a little bit at the start and found my feet. It’s been incredibly tight this weekend. Max and Red Bull looked quick this weekend. I mean to be honest, a lot of teams looked quick. It’s not been quite as comfortable for us. The result is not a big surprise but obviously, I would have loved to be a little bit further up.”
Piastri missed FP1 as Alex Dunne took the wheel to fulfill McLaren’s young driver quota, leaving him short of prep laps and struggling for race pace in FP2. Still, the rookie remains confident ahead of Sunday:
“I don’t think it looked too bad from where I was. It’s been a little trickier for us in general. I missed FP1 as well so that was my first long run and the race is always very different. I am pretty confident for tomorrow.”
