01/04/2023
NEWS STORY
Oscar Piastri cites inexperience for a qualifying performance that leaves him 16th on the grid for maiden home race.
Starting from the eighth row is not how Oscar Piastri envisaged his maiden single-seater race on home soil. However, as McLaren's woes continue, that is the reality of the situation, though the youngster isn't blaming the shortcomings of the MCL60.
"We adjusted the front wing a little bit for the last run and maybe it wasn't quite the best for the track conditions improving," he told Sky Sports.
"So yeah, I guess a little bit of inexperience on my side potentially," he added. "But it wasn't a big issue, it was only maybe a small tweak, it wouldn't have cost us too much."
The Australian was one of several drivers compromised by the red flag that followed Sergio Perez' off, his task made all the worse, once the session resumed, by traffic.
"All weekend it's been difficult to get the first lap going with the tyres, just because it's so cold," he said. "I think what we did was fine, just not quite quick enough."
The various issues on Friday, what with red flags and the changeable conditions, meant that there was little high-fuel running, and as a result this was the focus for this morning's session.
Consequently, when asked about his hopes for tomorrow, he said: "I don't think anyone really got enough long runs in to be honest. I think our pace was, was reasonable, nothing different, good or bad, compared to the last two races. We'll see.
"Melbourne keeps trying to rain as it does so who knows," he continued, "it might be to our advantage if it rains tomorrow, but I don't think it will."
Teammate, Lando Norris was even harder on his own performance, feeling that he overdrove the McLaren.
"Today wasn't quite as good as I was hoping," said the Briton. "The cooler conditions just made us struggle a little bit more to be consistent and get the maximum out of the car. It's still not a bad position to start and we can hopefully try to get into the points.
"I don't want to just settle for a P13 or P12," he continued, "so it's just a little bit of overdriving potentially. It's tough, especially when you're kind of close-ish.
"It's a tricky car to drive, one that is easy to go over the limit on anyway," he added. "When you combine that with trying to overdrive a little bit too much, then I made the mistakes like I did today. I am where I deserve to be.
"I'm not quite finding the rhythm that I want and the knowledge of every corner where the limit is exactly," he continued. I'm not quite driving the way I want and to the level I should hold myself to."
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