Piastri thrown by “bizarre” wind shift to qualify P2 in Hungary

Oscar Piastri was left frustrated after narrowly missing out on pole position in a chaotic end to Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying, faulting a “bizarre” shift in wind for unsettling his final lap, however, the Australian remains “pretty confident” about his chances in tonight’s race.

When the five lights go out at 23:00 AEST, Oscar Piastri will share the front row with surprise pole-sitter Charles Leclerc, aiming to replicate last weekend’s launch from second to first.

Asked to sum up the shock end to Qualifying, Piastri said it “depends where you’re sat”.

“If you’re sat where Charles is, fantastic; If you’re sat where I’m sat, bizarre and somewhat frustrating,” he added.

“But yeah, I mean, I think the conditions completely changed, and it was just weird. 

“My first lap felt terrible because I was pushing too much and kind of with the wind direction from the first two sessions in mind. 

“So, then I felt like I did a better job on the second lap of managing expectations, and it was even worse. 

“So yeah, a bizarre session, but I need to look back and see what differences it made. 

“Things definitely felt more tricky for myself as well in Q3, but I think for everybody it would have been difficult, so that’s not our excuse.”

Picking up where he left off in FP3, Piastri opened his Qualifying account with a rapid 1:15.554s lap, placing himself three-tenths clear of McLaren teammate Lando Norris as the pair locked out an early 1–2.

After a short spell in the garage, Piastri returned to the track for a final run on a used set of softs, preserving a fresh set for when it mattered most, and still managed to slice three-tenths off his previous best.

His 1:15.211s effort sealed him a comfortable passage into Q2 as the fastest driver in the first session, finishing ahead of Fernando Alonso and Isack Hadjar.

Q2 hinted at how Piastri’s session would unfold, with the Australian slotting into second on his first attempt, just 0.051s off the top, as gusty winds began to stir around the circuit.

On his final run, Piastri improved to a 1:14.941s, comfortably securing a spot in the top ten shootout in P2.

As the hour shootout reached its peak, Aston Martin was first to show its hand, but the pace was no match for the firepower McLaren brought to the table, with Piastri and Norris locking out the provisional front row after their opening Q3 runs.

Piastri set the early benchmark with a 1:15.398s, edging his teammate by just 0.096s to take provisional pole — but it didn’t last long.

Charles Leclerc lit up the middle sector on his final push lap and muscled his SF-25 across the line in 1:15.372s, just 0.026s clear of Piastri before erupting into laughter as the surprise result settled in.

With one minute left, McLaren had a shot at snatching pole back, but yellow sectors told the story.

The Australian couldn’t improve on his time of 1:15.398s, blaming the drastic change in wind for the snappy car underneath him, though admitting that was a “pathetic” excuse.

“Yeah, I think the wind changed a lot,” the 24-year-old said.

“It always sounds so pathetic blaming things on the wind, but the wind basically did a 180 from Q2 to Q3. 

“And yeah, it just meant a lot of the corners felt completely different. 

“My first lap in Q3 felt pretty terrible because I wasn’t used to it. 

“And then I thought the second lap was a lot better, but it was even slower. 

“So yeah, just difficult to judge in those conditions and maybe not the best execution, but I was a bit surprised that we couldn’t go quicker than that. 

“Second is still a decent spot to start, so we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”

Norris came close to leapfrogging his teammate, but fell just short, ending 0.015s behind and slotting into P3 — securing McLaren a second-row lockout behind a shock Ferrari pole.

With drivers out of position and mixed weather on the horizon, the Hungarian Grand Prix is shaping up to be an entertaining affair, and despite limited overtaking opportunities, Oscar Piastri is “pretty confident” he can repeat last weekend’s result throughout the 70 laps, noting that Turn 1 and the pitlane are “probably it” around the tight Hungaroring.

“It was good last year, so hopefully it can be good again this year,” the #81 said.

“But yeah, like Charles said, there’s some rain around. 

“We’ll see if that impacts the race. 

“But I think our pace has been good, but Charles has been quick all weekend, in certain sessions. 

“It is a very difficult track to overtake on, and it’s not going to be the easiest place to try and regain the lead.”

Lights out for the Hungarian Grand Prix will take place at 23:00 AEST tonight.

Image: Formula 1

2025 Hungarian Grand Prix Schedule:

Friday, August 01:

Free Practice 1: 21:30 – 22:30

Saturday, August 02:

Free Practice 2: 01:00 – 02:00

Free Practice 3: 20:30 – 21:30

Sunday, August 03: 

Qualifying: 00:00 – 01:00

Race: 23:00

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