'Hit more walls': Oscar Piastri's candid admission amid Monaco Grand Prix 'struggles'
Oscar Piastri was surprisingly candid in his assessment of his performance in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.
The young Aussie leads the championship by 13 points from McLaren teammate Lando Norris, but was lucky to escape from several hairy moments on the streets of the Principality.
Piastri hit the wall on at least two occasions in the third part of qualifying, having earlier asked his team to check for damage after another gentle nudge in the opening part.
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But he somehow managed to keep all four wheels pointed in the same direction and set the third-quickest time, 0.175 behind polesitting teammate Norris. The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc spilt the pair, just over a tenth behind Norris.
"I think I've hit more walls this weekend than I have in my whole career," Piastri said.
Oscar Piastri will start the Monaco Grand Prix from third on the grid. Getty
"It's been untidy. I've been struggling to get into the groove a little bit and I think in qualifying I was much happier with things and I felt pretty good.
"We've been doing some digging this weekend and to come out with this result is a decent effort."
The nature of the Monaco streets means the Saturday qualifying session is by far the most important of the season. Only four on-track overtakes were executed in last year's race, in which the top-10 finished in grid order for the first time in the sport's history.
In a bid to spice up the race, F1 bosses have mandated each car make two pit-stops through the race. It leaves much of the grid without a clear picture of what a winning race strategy looks like.
Piastri gave a blunt admission after qualifying third for the Monaco Grand Prix. NurPhoto via Getty Images
"We're in good positions, but it's still going to be an exciting race tomorrow with the two-stop so let's see what happens," Piastri said.
"I don't think anyone really knows what to expect."
This was Norris' first pole since the Australian Grand Prix in March.
"It's been a long time coming," Norris said.
"I don't think I've ever doubted what I can do. Of course, I've got frustrated, I've been unhappy, because that's normal.
"If you don't win, if you don't get pole, you're not going to be happy, especially when it's where you should be, it's what the objective is."
Norris' 1:09.954 lowered Lewis Hamilton's track record set in 2019. Leclerc, who had topped each of the three earlier practice sessions, was barely a tenth behind.
It was a session to forget for Mercedes as its cars caused two red flags.
George Russell is set to start 14th after his car broke down in the tunnel with a suspected electrical problem, causing a lengthy stoppage while it was pushed out of the way by a track marshal crew.
His 18-year-old teammate Kimi Antonelli hit the wall at the Nouvelle Chicane at the end of Q1 and was 15th.
Haas rookie Oliver Bearman qualified 17th but will start last after serving a 10-place grid drop for a red flag infringement in first practice.
The race begins at 11pm AEST.
- With AP
