{"id":524445,"date":"2026-03-07T10:19:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T10:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/524445\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T10:19:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T10:19:15","slug":"f1-news-oscar-piastri-searching-for-answers-after-qualifying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/524445\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 news: Oscar Piastri searching for answers after qualifying"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Piastri
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOscar Piastri is still looking for pace answers after Australian Grand Prix qualifying. Image: XPB Images<\/p>\n

The Australian had looked competitive earlier in the weekend but admitted the picture shifted heading into qualifying as rivals made gains.<\/p>\n

Piastri briefly threatened a place on the front two rows late in Q3 before slipping to fifth as improvements from Isack Hadjar and Charles Leclerc pushed him down the order.<\/p>\n

His teammate Lando Norris ended the session one place further back in sixth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think after yesterday probably painted an overly optimistic picture for us, but we felt like we were in the mix. And after FP3, we definitely didn\u2019t feel like we\u2019re in the mix,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo yeah, after FP3 by far the biggest thing was straight line speeds. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s the same after qualifying, but I think that\u2019s going to be something we need to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Piastri, whose McLaren is powered by a Mercedes engine, had topped Friday\u2019s second practice session at Albert Park with a lap of 1:19.729s after earlier power issues disrupted his running in FP1.<\/p>\n

However, the home favourite slipped back in final practice, finishing eighth as Mercedes surged to the front<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That swing became clearer in qualifying, where George Russell showcased the true pace of the Mercedes package in 2026, claiming pole position ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli.<\/p>\n

Piastri said the expectation within the paddock had been for a closely fought session, but Mercedes ultimately made the decisive step forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think our thoughts and the picture of it being that everyone was pretty close. And then Mercedes jumped ahead and the rest wasn\u2019t pretty close,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think to me the biggest thing was we didn\u2019t seem to gain very much for us. So it didn\u2019t seem to gain very much through qualifying.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if that was car or driver.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Australian also suggested the opening qualifying session of Formula 1\u2019s new regulatory era had exposed how difficult it can be to extract performance from the current machinery.<\/p>\n

\u201cClearly the way you naturally want to go fast doesn\u2019t work. But maybe there needs to be more restraint looked into,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Asked about the driving experience itself, Piastri offered a brief verdict: \u201cIt\u2019s different.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said much of the challenge stemmed from the complex energy management required under the new systems, which can leave drivers short of power at various points of the lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone can see the state of things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it will probably improve a bit. But there\u2019s clearly some fundamental things that won\u2019t be very easy to fix.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I don\u2019t really know what we do about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Piastri also explained that some circuits are already highlighting those challenges more than others depending on how energy is deployed through a lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be better at different tracks,\u201d he said<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have different challenges at other tracks because the tracks are kind of in two categories at the moment of being energy starved and energy rich.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think when you\u2019re energy starved like this, it\u2019s a lot more obvious to everyone watching.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the increased complexity had also added to the workload in the cockpit, with drivers needing to constantly monitor their steering wheel displays.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at the dash a lot, yes,\u201d Piastri said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m sure everyone\u2019s seen how we have to start a qualifying lap now. Which isn\u2019t great.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd there\u2019s just a lot of things you have to do to optimise.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Australian Grand Prix takes place at 3pm AEDT Sunday.<\/p>\n


\"\"\/
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