Piastri confident he can win after 'bizarre' Hungarian qualifying
BUDAPEST - McLaren's Formula One leader Oscar Piastri was confident he could win from second place on the starting grid after a 'bizarre and somewhat frustrating' Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday.
The Australian will line up alongside Ferrari's pole-sitter Charles Leclerc at the Hungaroring on Sunday with title rival and teammate Lando Norris in third place.
"Pretty confident," Piastri, 16 points clear of Norris, said of his chances of taking a seventh win from 14 races.
"It was good last year, so hopefully it can be good again this year."
Piastri started second last year, with Norris on pole, and went on to take the first win of his F1 career.
Sunday's race could see some rain, which could make things tricky on a twisty circuit where overtaking is already difficult and strategy can be crucial.
McLaren were fastest in all three practice sessions but Leclerc made the most of the conditions to seize a surprise advantage.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore $3b money laundering case: MinLaw names 6 law firms taken to task over involvement in property deals
Singapore Police reopen access to all areas in Marina Bay after crowd congestion eases at NDP Preview area
Singapore Opening of Woodlands Health has eased load on KTPH, sets standard for future hospitals: Ong Ye Kung
Asia KTM plans new passenger rail service in Johor Bahru to manage higher footfall expected from RTS
Singapore HSA investigating teen allegedly vaping on MRT train
Asia 4 workers dead after falling into manhole in Japan
Singapore New vehicular bridge connecting Punggol Central and Seletar Link to open on Aug 3
Singapore New S'pore jobs portal launched for North West District residents looking for work near home
"If you're sat where Charles is, fantastic. If you're sat where I'm sat, bizarre and somewhat frustrating," he said when asked to sum up the session.
"I think the conditions completely changed, and it was just weird.
"I think our pace has been good, but Charles has been quick all weekend, in certain sessions," added the Australian. "It is a very difficult track to overtake on, and it's not going to be the easiest place to try and regain the lead."
Norris, winner of four races so far this campaign, agreed with his teammate.
"I think we always have, at least in the race, a bit more of an advantage. But our main competitor over the last four, five races has been Charles and it's been the Ferrari," said the Briton.
"So, if there was anyone else that's going to be on pole today, it was going to be Charles. And if there's anyone that's going to make our life tough tomorrow, it's going to be the same guy." REUTERS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
38 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Ferrari feared Leclerc might not finish in Hungary
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox BUDAPEST - Ferrari feared Charles Leclerc might not finish Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix after the Monegasque, who started on pole position, suffered a dramatic loss of performance after his second pitstop. Leclerc pitted from the lead on lap 40 of 70 and ended up fourth, with teammate Lewis Hamilton 12th in a race won by McLaren's Lando Norris. Team boss Fred Vasseur told reporters that the situation had been "quite strange" after being in control for the first 40 laps. "The last stint was a disaster, very difficult to drive, the balance was not there. Honestly, we don't know exactly what's happened so far," he said. "We have to investigate if there's something broken on the chassis side or whatever. At one stage I thought that we would never finish the race." Leclerc had taken Ferrari's first proper pole of the Formula One season on Saturday, apart from Hamilton's sprint pole in Shanghai in March, and led cleanly away from the start at a circuit where overtaking is difficult. Norris switched from a two-stop strategy to a one-stop, despite McLaren's initial reservations about the tyres lasting, after dropping to fifth on lap one and needing to do something different to teammate Oscar Piastri. Championship leader Piastri had failed to get past Leclerc on strategy but was able to take second and close the gap to Norris after the Ferrari lost speed. "We had to try and do something to beat Leclerc because it wasn't obvious that we just had enough pace to blow past him and go and win that way," said Piastri of a failed attempt to get ahead with an earlier first pitstop. "I don't know what happened to Charles in the second half of the race, but clearly something happened because he looked quite quick for the first half." REUTERS
CNA
38 minutes ago
- CNA
Ferrari feared Leclerc might not finish in Hungary
BUDAPEST :Ferrari feared Charles Leclerc might not finish Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix after the Monegasque, who started on pole position, suffered a dramatic loss of performance after his second pitstop. Leclerc pitted from the lead on lap 40 of 70 and ended up fourth, with teammate Lewis Hamilton 12th in a race won by McLaren's Lando Norris. Team boss Fred Vasseur told reporters that the situation had been "quite strange" after being in control for the first 40 laps. "The last stint was a disaster, very difficult to drive, the balance was not there. Honestly, we don't know exactly what's happened so far," he said. "We have to investigate if there's something broken on the chassis side or whatever. At one stage I thought that we would never finish the race." Leclerc had taken Ferrari's first proper pole of the Formula One season on Saturday, apart from Hamilton's sprint pole in Shanghai in March, and led cleanly away from the start at a circuit where overtaking is difficult. Norris switched from a two-stop strategy to a one-stop, despite McLaren's initial reservations about the tyres lasting, after dropping to fifth on lap one and needing to do something different to teammate Oscar Piastri. Championship leader Piastri had failed to get past Leclerc on strategy but was able to take second and close the gap to Norris after the Ferrari lost speed. "We had to try and do something to beat Leclerc because it wasn't obvious that we just had enough pace to blow past him and go and win that way," said Piastri of a failed attempt to get ahead with an earlier first pitstop. "I don't know what happened to Charles in the second half of the race, but clearly something happened because he looked quite quick for the first half."
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Hamilton still down after difficult Hungarian weekend
BUDAPEST :Lewis Hamilton said there was a lot going on in the background after he finished 12th in the Hungarian Grand Prix, a day after calling himself useless and suggesting Ferrari should find a replacement. The seven-times world champion cut a despondent figure, giving only terse replies to media questions about the race and his earlier words, but confirmed he would return after the August break. "I look forward to coming back," he said. "Hopefully, I will be back, yeah." On Saturday Hamilton had told reporters that "it's me every time. I'm useless, absolutely useless" and said Ferrari "probably need to change driver." Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur said Hamilton, the most successful F1 driver of all time but lapped on Sunday, was demanding of everyone but most of all of himself. He said it was a tough situation to be 12th on the grid, at a circuit where he has won a record eight times and been on pole nine, when teammate Charles Leclerc qualified in first place. "I can understand the frustration from Lewis, that this is normal," added the Frenchman. "So we will be back and we will perform. "I don't need to motivate him. Honestly, he's frustrated, but not demotivated. It's a completely different story." Leclerc ultimately finished fourth after leading for much of the race. Hamilton's former Mercedes boss Toto Wolff also spoke out strongly in the 40-year-old Briton's defence, calling his Saturday comments just "Lewis wearing his heart on his sleeve. "It was very raw. It was out of himself and we had it in the past when he felt that he underperformed his own expectations," added the Austrian. "He's been that emotional, emotionally transparent since he was a young boy, a young adult. So he's got to beat himself up. "He's the GOAT (greatest of all time) and will always be the GOAT and nobody's going to take that away." Wolff said also that he was sure Hamilton had unfinished business in Formula One, after losing controversially in 2021 what would have been a record eighth title, and still had what it takes. "He shouldn't go anywhere next year," said the Mercedes boss. "Brand new cars, completely different to drive, new power units... I hope he stays on for many more years and certainly next year is going to be an important one."
