Oscar Piastri Declares He “Was Pretty Good” Despite Finishing P3 at Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying

Oscar Piastri reckoned that he maximized results as much as possible to ultimately achieve a P3 start for the Abu Dhabi GP.

Oscar Piastri Declares He “Was Pretty Good” Despite Finishing P3 at Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying

Oscar Piastri (via Getty)

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Oscar Piastri‘s title-winning chances seem to be finished even before the beginning of the Abu Dhabi GP race. The Aussie has failed to achieve a front-row start, let alone a pole position, against both the championship leaders in Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.

As such, Piastri will start in P3 and aim to maximize results on race day, and hopes for luck to play out in his favor. Regardless, the 24-year-old believes he did a good enough job in the Qualifying session.

Since returning from the summer break, Oscar Piastri‘s results started to deteriorate massively. The Aussie quickly lost his championship lead to Lando Norris, who was in much better form.

Moreover, Max Verstappen‘s stellar comeback helped him clinch the runner-up position from Piastri in the standings as well. Hence, the 24-year-old might not even finish in P2 in the standings following a rollercoaster of a season.

Now, after starting the championship deciding championship finale at Abu Dhabi in P3, Oscar Piastri isn’t too concerned. Even if he were to be ahead of Lando Norris, he would have to give up the position to him anyway, courtesy of the Papaya Rules. As such, he isn’t too concerned about his race day performance and hopes to achieve the best possible results, second to Norris.

Oscar Piastri reckoned that his performance in the Qualifying session was pretty good. The Aussie highlighted that his first lap in Q1 was good to get him in the rhythm for the session. Further, his final lap in Q3 was great, although he couldn’t quite crack a front-row start for the race. Piastri reassured that he gave it his all on track, and there wasn’t much pace left in the car ultimately.

I think it was pretty good. The lap I did in Q1 was nice to finally get into a rhythm and the last lap in Q3 was nice too, there wasn’t a lot left in that.

Oscar Piastri said in a post-quali interview.

Oscar Piastri hopes for “unexpected things to happen” at the Abu Dhabi GP

Certainly, only a miracle could revive Oscar Piastri’s title hopes and help him win his maiden title at the end of the 2025 season. The Aussie opened up on his plans for the Abu Dhabi GP as he was unaware of the long-run pace of the McLaren on race day. Regardless, Piastri hopes for better conditions and track evolution for Sunday and to maximize his results.

Oscar Piastri (via F1)
Oscar Piastri (via F1)

Oscar Piastri noted that he had no answers to the massive gap in terms of pace between him and the pole sitter in Max Verstappen. The Aussie reckoned that he would’ve liked a better long-run pace but believes that it isn’t something he could control. Further, Piastri asserted that he believed that unexpected things could happen on race day, and hence, he would aim to still fight for the driver’s title.

think the Q3 laps were also pretty good. The small margins that always exist in a qualifying lap were probably there, but today I had no answer for Max’s [VER] pace. I would’ve liked the long runs to be a little better, but we’re here now and we’ll see how the conditions and the track evolve. [I’ve learned] that unexpected things can happen. That’s what I’ve learned.

Oscar Piastri said in a press conference.

The 2025 season will go down in the history of Formula 1 as one of the more exciting and thrilling seasons in terms of the championship battle. Max Verstappen is starting from pole position and will hope to cut down the 14-point deficit to the championship leader. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris just need to achieve a podium finish to seal the latter’s title win.

Also Read: Carlos Sainz Snubs Max Verstappen and Names Lando Norris as 2025 F1 Championship Favorite