P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Oscar Piastri confused by McLaren’s lack of pace in Singapore Grand Prix qualifying.
Oscar Piastri expressed his confusion over McLaren’s lack of competitiveness in qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix, where he missed out on pole position by 0.366 seconds behind George Russell and Max Verstappen.
Piastri’s McLaren teammate Lando Norris qualified fifth, with Piastri taking third place behind Russell and Verstappen, and Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes.
Despite feeling good in practice and Q1, Piastri was surprised that McLaren couldn’t find more improvements compared to their rivals as the track conditions changed.
McLaren’s team principal, Andrea Stella, attributed their struggles to challenges with braking, bumps, and kerbs on the track layout, similar to issues faced in Canada and Baku.
Norris pointed out that McLaren’s front tires’ operating temperature was a significant problem, causing front-end grip issues, especially in understeer situations, which gave Mercedes an advantage in qualifying.
