Welcome at RacingNews365

Become part of the largest racing community in the United Kingdom. Create your free account now!

  • Share your thoughts and opinions about F1
  • Win fantastic prizes
  • Get access to our premium content
  • Take advantage of more exclusive benefits
Sign in
Oscar Piastri

Oscar Piastri blames 'pathetic' reason for surprise qualifying upset

Oscar Piastri highlighted how his McLaren suddenly felt "pretty terrible" at the start of Q3 - and then went even slower, despite thinking his final push lap was better.

Piastri Hungary
Article
To news overview © XPBimages

Oscar Piastri has explained that the wind played a decisive role in preventing him from securing pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver labelled it a "pathetic" thing to blame the disappointing result on, whilst detailing how a significant change in direction left him feeling "pretty terrible" in his MCL39.

Charles Leclerc stole pole away from the Australian and team-mate Lando Norris, who will line up for the race at the Hungaroring in third.

"The wind changed a lot," the eight-time grand prix winner stated after the session. "It always sounds so pathetic blaming things on the wind, but the wind basically did a 180 from Q2 to Q3 and yeah, just meant a lot of the corners felt completely different.

"And my first lap in Q3 felt pretty terrible because I wasn't used to it. Then I thought the second lap was a lot better, but it was even slower.

"So just difficult to judge in those conditions, and maybe not the best execution, but I was a bit surprised that we couldn't go quicker than that. [But] second is still a decent spot to start."

Piastri acknowledged that the pace from the Ferrari caught him off-guard, admitting he did not expect to start behind one of the SF-25s, even if the Monegasque driver was closer than expected in FP3.

"Charles has been quick all weekend, and even this morning, he was closer than we expected," the 24-year-old said.

"Things just changed a little bit, and I guess he did a very good job. Well done to him. I wasn't expecting to be second to a Ferrari this weekend, but he's done a good job.

"So it's gonna be a fun race tomorrow with a bit more involved."

Also interesting:

WATCH: Hamilton makes 'useless' claim as Verstappen reveals Red Bull's 'biggest problem'

Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes and Nick Golding, as they dissect a crazy qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix!

Join the conversation!

x
RESULTS 2025 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix - Qualifying