Yahoo Autos Piastri takes blame for ‘painful’ Mexico City Q1 exit
Oscar Piastri admits the mistake he made in qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix was painful as he dropped out in Q1.
McLaren looked quick in FP3 on Saturday and was a contender for pole position but Piastri locked up on his first run in Q1 as the team used medium tires initially. Then on softs for his final attempt, the Australian went wide at Turn 12 and couldn’t improve enough on a second timed lap so was eliminated in 17th place.
“I just went off in Turn 12, got beached on the curb there and that’s it,” Piastri said. “My lap was easily going to be enough so it’s frustrating to make that mistake. I lost about a second, so… painful.
“FP3 was very strong, even FP2. FP1 I struggled a bit, but FP2 I think we made some really good changes and I was comfortable. FP3 [was] very comfortable as well, and even in qualifying I felt good. Just a very silly mistake, trying a bit too hard in Q1, so that was it. I mean, at least I know where it all went wrong, but it still is painful to be stood here.”
Piastri also suggested he could have aborted and done another run on new tires to try and advance but he was expecting to have the performance to improve regardless.
“We didn’t have to [stay out], but it felt like a very sensible decision to do that,” he explained. “I think we just had very, very little grip on that second lap, which was a shame, but I mean, I shouldn’t have even needed it. Obviously frustrating, because the pace looked very strong and I felt comfortable. Just tried a bit too much in Turn 12 and it bit me hard.”
A year ago, teammate Lando Norris also started 17th and finished fifth with an impressive drive in Mexico, and Piastri says that will be the template for his own recovery attempt on Sunday.
“Try and get back into the points, and strongly into the points, hopefully,” he said. “We’re trying to draw inspiration from Lando’s race last year and see what we can do. I think it’s going to be tough, because the field looks reasonably tight. I think we’ve got some pace on board this weekend, so we’ll try and use it to get through.”
