Piastri reveals McLaren discomfort after Bahrain pole

Oscar Piastri has revealed that McLaren's rivals were closer than "he wanted" after claiming pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix. 

Piastri secured pole position following an excellent final lap in qualifying, which was enough to deny George Russell pole by just under two-tenths. 

The Australian was the favourite going into the session, having been quickest in third practice by a huge margin. 

He was delighted to secure pole position but acknowledged he still needs to make a strong start on Sunday. 

"I felt confident out there pretty much all weekend to be honest," said Piastri. "FP1 was, an experience for us all. 

"I think it felt more like a rally car than an F1 car. But from then on, I felt really comfortable with the car and FP3, we had good pace. And, yeah, [in] qualifying, the others caught up a little bit closer than what I wanted.  

"But yeah, I still delivered the lap when it mattered which was the most important thing at the end. So very, very happy."

To Piastri's advantage, team-mate Lando Norris qualified in sixth, handing the Australian a huge advantage. Despite this, the McLaren driver is not thinking about Norris.

"Let's see, I got to get to Turn 1 in first, first," said Piastri. "So let's see what happens. But yeah, felt like I've been comfortable all weekend, and like I said, there's no better place to start than on pole. 

"Can't thank the team enough for the car they've given me and yeah, excited for the rest tomorrow."