Oscar Piastri pays for deleted (and reinstated) lap: “On my final attempt, I left too much margin”. Oscar Piastri will start the Abu Dhabi GP from the front row.

Ahead of Carlos Sainz by just 20 thousandths of a second, but trailing his teammate Lando Norris by two-tenths—these are the numbers behind Oscar Piastri’s second-place finish in Abu Dhabi GP qualifying. The Australian completed a crucial McLaren one-two, especially in light of their Constructors’ Championship battle with Ferrari. However, he couldn’t snatch pole position from his garage mate, which would have bolstered his chances of contending for the GP win.

Overly cautious
Oscar Piastri was affected—at least mentally—by the deletion (and subsequent reinstatement) of his initial timed lap in Q3. Like Sergio Perez in Q1 and Charles Leclerc in Q2, the McLaren driver pushed to the edge of the track at Turn 1. Initially, his time was removed, but it was later reinstated after footage showed his MCL38 had not fully exceeded track limits. However, in his final attempt, Oscar Piastri carried the weight of this incident, leaving too much “margin” on the track.

“After my lap was first deleted and then reinstated, I left more space than I should have in Turn 1,” Oscar Piastri admitted. “As a result, I lost some time, but we’re still in a great position. We just need to keep our heads down and stay focused. There’s still a lot to do tomorrow. Securing the front row is a fantastic result for the team, but the job isn’t finished yet. It’s great to head into the race from a position of strength.”