McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was not expecting first Q3 appearance to arrive in Jeddah

McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri was not anticipating his first Q3 appearance to arrive in a flurry at the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah.

The 19-year-old Australian, who is the youngest driver on the grid this season, had a momentously difficult weekend, yet still managed to deliver an impressive performance in Q2; qualifying in 11th place, 0.5 seconds off the pole position, on a circuit he had never previously visited.

Piastri, who joined the team from the F2 championship, was not expecting to reach Q3 in his debut season.

“I didn’t expect it at all,” Piastri said. “I was quite surprised when I saw the pace in the car.”

The difficult and technical Jeddah track presented a unique challenge for the F1 rookie, who had to quickly adapt to the circuit layout.

“The track layout is quite difficult, with a lot of technical elements to it,” he said. “I think I did a good job to get up to speed quite quickly and keep the car in balance.”

Piastri’s strong performance in Q2 was very encouraging for the McLaren team, and the young driver will be hoping to carry his momentum into the next race in Bahrain.