Oscar Piastri believes his love of Spa-Francorchamps performed a task in him being comfortably quickest in Dash qualifying forward of the Belgian Grand Prix.
McLaren opted for a better downforce setting that provides the automobile good efficiency within the corners by way of the center sector, however barely much less prime velocity within the first and final sectors. It was an method that labored for Piastri as he was practically half a second away from Max Verstappen, and 0.6s forward of teammate Lando Norris, in a dominant Dash qualifying show.
• Sprint qualifying report: Piastri blitzes field again
“It was a great lap,” Piastri stated. “Slightly scared in SQ2 with the lap deletion [for exceeding track limits at Raidillon], however the automobile’s been mega all day and I really feel like I have been in a position to put in loads of good laps. So due to the workforce, the automobile’s been nice and this can be a monitor I really like.
“It is my favourite one of many yr and, I do not know, possibly that gave me a few additional tenths! But it surely’s all the time good enjoyable round right here and when the automobile’s dealing with in addition to it’s immediately, it is a pleasure.
“The automobile has been in a great window from lap one and it is a monitor I all the time get pleasure from coming to. I do not know why, however I believe I’ve had good confidence. I really feel like the previous couple of weekends have been good from a tempo perspective, however not a lot from a outcomes perspective, so it is good to get a end result for that.”
Whereas the margin was large within the closing lap occasions, Pink Bull took the other method to McLaren, with Verstappen significantly fast within the first and third sectors. That makes Piastri weak to assault initially on Saturday, one thing he’s cautious of given the impression of a slipstream early on.
“I must go and look. The Pink Bulls had been very fast in a straight line in follow – I do not know if that was the identical in Dash qualifying, however that makes life troublesome and Spa might be the worst monitor to have pole place at, so let’s have a look at. However I believe the tempo within the automobile is admittedly sturdy and I’ve felt good immediately, so hopefully we will have a great day tomorrow.”
