Oscar Piastri admitted he endured a late scare with tyre vibrations in the closing laps of the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint, despite controlling the race to secure a composed victory at the Losail International Circuit.
The Australian took a significant step in his title pursuit by finishing ahead of teammate Lando Norris, who came home third, while Max Verstappen’s fourth place elevated Piastri to an outright second in the Drivers’ Championship standings.
Piastri’s performance, his first top-three result since Monza in September, came on a weekend already overshadowed by controversy.
Pirelli imposed a 25-lap maximum tyre stint for the Grand Prix - an unusual mandate prompted by concerns over potential structural wear at the circuit, which features aggressive kerbs and sustained high speeds.
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Although the Sprint distance fell well within the limit, drivers were conscious of the unpredictable load patterns that had prompted Pirelli’s intervention.
It was in this context that Piastri felt the first signs of trouble.
“Yeah, like five or six laps to the end, I think it was front left was starting to vibrate a bit and I hadn’t locked up or anything,” he said afterwards.
F1 facts fans might not know | GETTY/GBNEWS“So it’s never a great sign when you start getting vibrations out of nowhere.
“So I think it was a similar thing for other people as well. We’ll see if there’s any concerns with that. But that was pretty much the only concern.”
Despite the discomfort, the McLaren driver managed the issue without relinquishing his advantage, maintaining his pace comfortably ahead of the field.
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Oscar Piastri was too quick for the rest of the pack in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race
|GETTY
Afterwards, he expressed satisfaction at once again operating from the front.
“Yeah, it was nice,” he said. “It was nice to have some clean air again, it makes a pretty big difference. Just nice to get off to a smooth start to the weekend really. The car’s been good so far and I feel like I’ve been able to gel with it pretty good.”
Piastri’s strong form in Qatar is no anomaly.
He has previously excelled at the high-speed venue, where the combination of fast corners, a smooth surface and consistent grip appears to suit his driving style.
Asked whether Losail feels particularly natural to him, he offered a measured assessment.
“I mean, it’s definitely a different circuit. Incredibly high speed, much higher grip surface as well," he stated.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are competing for the F1 title | GETTY"But I think honestly, the last couple of weekends have been not bad in terms of pace.
"It’s just been mistakes or things out of our control going wrong.
"This weekend the pace has been probably a little bit stronger, but everything’s just been smooth. So I think that’s the biggest difference."
With qualifying only hours away, attention turned to whether McLaren might consider adjustments to the MCL39 before the fight for pole.
Piastri suggested any changes would be limited to fine-tuning rather than overhauls.
“I’ll find out shortly, but the car’s been good so far,” he said. “So if it is, it’ll be tweaks rather than anything major.”