McLaren’s Oscar Piastri will start 17th on the grid for the Mexican GP after a track limits breach and a crucial tyre decision led to an early Q1 exit. The Australian driver, who led the way in FP3, explained that McLaren opted not to pit for fresh soft tyres following his wide run at Turn 12, a choice that ultimately cost him the grip needed to advance.
“I mean, we didn’t have to [keep those tyres], but it felt like a very sensible decision,” Piastri remarked. “I think we just had very, very little grip on that second lap, which was a shame, but I mean, I shouldn’t have even needed it.” His penultimate run had triggered a lap deletion after he drifted wide, leaving him scrambling to make up time on worn rubber. Reflecting on the error, he admitted, “I lost pretty much a second, so it would have been comfortable [without the error].”
Despite a strong showing in practice, Piastri’s miscalculation in Q1 left him disappointed. “Just a very silly mistake, trying a bit too hard in Q1, so that was it,” he added. But the young driver finds hope in his teammate Lando Norris’s recovery from a similar situation in last year’s Mexico GP, where Norris surged from 17th to fifth.
“[I’ll] try and get back into the points, and strongly into the points, hopefully,” Piastri stated. “We’re trying to draw inspiration from Lando’s race last year and see what we can do.” Aware of the tightly packed field, Piastri remains determined to fight his way back with a more competitive McLaren package.
