Oscar Piastri issues Spa pole concern after sprint qualifying 'heart attack'

Oscar Piastri has admitted Spa-Francorchamps is the “worst track” to have pole position at due to the opening sector that provides various overtaking opportunities.

Piastri secured pole position for the sprint race with a dominant gap of four-tenths of a second to Max Verstappen.

Piastri suffered a scare during the second qualifying segment as his initial lap time was deleted, with his second effort leaving him in 10th place at the chequered flag.

However, the McLaren driver bounced back with a strong lap in SQ3 to secure pole position, leaving him to apologise over team radio for the “heart attack” he caused.

Reflecting on his pole position, Piastri said: “It was a good lap. [I had] a little scare in SQ2, with the lap deletion. 

“But the car has been mega all day, and I feel like I've been able to put in a lot of good laps. 

“Thanks to the team, the car has been great. This is a track I love, it's one of my favourite of the year. 

“Maybe they gave me a couple of extra tenths, but it's always good fun around here. And when the car's handling as well as it is today, it's a pleasure.”

Verstappen displayed strong straight-line speed all throughout free practice, and was consistently faster than McLaren in the opening sector.

It may leave Piastri vulnerable to the Dutchman on the opening lap of the sprint - a situation the former is all too aware of.

“The Red Bulls were very quick in a straight line in practice. I don't know if that was the same in sprint qualifying, but that makes life difficult.

“Spa is probably the worst track to have pole position at. Let's see, I'll go have a look. 

“The pace in the car is really strong, and I felt good today, so hopefully we can have a good day tomorrow.”