Piastri reflects on “unpredictable” Sprint Saturday in Austin

Oscar Piastri’s Saturday at the United States Grand Prix offered little respite, with a Turn 1 Sprint crash and a “tricky” Qualifying leaving the Australian handing his championship rivals a clear advantage heading into Sunday’s 56-lap main event.

Turn 1 at the United States Grand Prix Sprint delivered chaos almost immediately, and Oscar Piastri found himself at the centre of it.

Just meters into the 19-lap dash, the McLaren driver’s last-minute decision to take a sharp inside line while attempting to cut back on Lando Norris resulted in race-ending contact, with the Australian quickly becoming a part of a three-car sandwich. 

Bouncing onto two wheels, the Australian rebounded into his teammate, spinning Norris out of the Sprint as the Briton’s rear tyre flew across the circuit.

While Norris’ race was brought to an instant halt, Piastri’s Sprint ended a few corners later at Turn 9, the #81 McLaren running with a broken pull rod. 

“I think for me, it’s a racing incident,” Piastri said. 

“I was a long way away from the apex, and, you know, I think the cars behind were going in pretty deep into the corner. 

“So, could I have done something a bit different? Maybe, yes, but that different thing would have been to potentially let two or three cars go by. 

“So, can’t just drive around the outside of the track and let everyone use up all the space.”

McLaren CEO Zak Brown was equally disappointed, with the American calling the opening corner incident “terrible” as he spoke with Sky Sports F1. 

“Neither of our drivers to blame there,” Brown said.

“Some amateur hour driving. 

“Some drivers up there at the front whacked our two guys.

“I want to see the replay again, but clearly Nico drove into Oscar, and he had no business being where he was.”

The CEO later retracted his statements, admitting that after reviewing the incident, his opinion had changed.

“I can’t really put that on Nico,” he said.

“In the heat of the moment, obviously pretty bothered by what I saw there, a lot of incidents in Turn 1, but I don’t think that’s on Nico.” 

Still recovering from the Sprint’s carnage, McLaren worked frantically to repair both cars as Qualifying got underway, fitting both Piastri and Norris with new gearboxes as a precaution.

“It was back in one piece, and as far as I’m aware, set up how we intended,” the #81 said. 

“It all felt normal, just the kind of behaviour that we’ve had a couple of times through the season was… Yeah, came out to play again.”

Following an early Red Flag in Q1, Piastri struggled to find rhythm in the gusty COTA conditions, crossing the line fifth fastest—almost three-tenths off the initial pace. 

As the clock counted down, the Australian slipped to P12, but managed to stay clear of the bottom five and secure a place in Q2.

Piastri got off to a lacklustre start in the second stage of Qualifying, posting only the seventh fastest time on his first attempt.

Unsatisfied with a lap that left him more than half a second adrift of the benchmark, the Australian returned to the track determined to improve, but as the session unfolded, few drivers were able to threaten his position.

“Just a little bit unpredictable, you know, I think it was very tight for the positions ahead of me,” Piastri said.

“So, I think, you know, compared to yesterday, it didn’t feel quite as, quite as comfortable or as quick, but yes, some things to try and look at and see why it was.”

Piastri began Q3 by setting a personal best lap, briefly raising hopes before a complete time of 1:33.465s left him down in P9.

Returning to the track, he improved through the opening sector, but a yellow middle sector undermined his push for the top three, leaving the Australian with a final result of P6.

“Just a tricky session,” Piastri said. 

“Didn’t really feel terribly comfortable out there, and, you know, I think the lap times show it, so, tricky session. 

“But, still a long race tomorrow, and a lot can happen, so try and make up some ground.”

The Australian added: “I’ve started in that position before in my career, but just try and do what I do every time, which is take the opportunities that are there, assess the risks that there are, and ultimately, just try and do my best.

“That’s all I need.”

His fastest lap, a 1:33.084s, placed him 0.574s behind Max Verstappen’s pole lap and nearly three-tenths behind teammate Norris, leaving the McLaren driver facing a challenging Sunday in Austin, with Championship repercussions on his mind.

Lights out for the highly anticipated United States Grand Prix will take place at 06:00 AEST on Monday.

Image: McLaren

2025 United States Grand Prix Schedule (AEST):

Saturday, October 18th:

Free Practice: 04:30 – 05:30

Sprint Qualifying: 08:30 – 09:14

Sunday, October 19th:

Sprint Race: 04:00 – 04:30

Qualifying: 08:00 – 09:00

Monday, October 20th:

Race: 06:00 – 08:00

Read the new issue of Auto Action Digital HERE

Buy the new issue of Auto Action Premium HERE

Don’t forget the print edition of Auto Action available via subscription here, or you can purchase a copy of the latest issue from one of our outlets here.