MADRID — Oscar Piastri described his Spanish Grand Prix qualifying as “shocking” and “quite messy” after finishing seventh at the new Madring circuit, while McLaren Formula 1 teammate Lando Norris took pole position in Madrid. Piastri, who labelled his final lap “crap,” was left bewildered by the performance on a weekend where he has struggled for pace from the outset.
Having been off the pace all weekend at the new track, Piastri failed to find rhythm through the sessions in Madrid. Save for FP3, he did not break into the top six in any practice session or qualifying segment, a run that continued as the grid was set and left him well behind Norris at the top of the timesheets.
The Australian was downbeat afterwards as he tried to explain the messy session, pointing to the disappointing final lap as emblematic of a difficult qualifying hour. The contrast inside McLaren was stark at Madring, with Norris delivering the benchmark lap for pole while Piastri was unable to string together a clean, competitive effort.
The seventh-place grid slot leaves Piastri starting from the fourth row for the Spanish Grand Prix, facing a recovery job on an unfamiliar layout where overtaking and strategy remain unproven. McLaren heads into race day with split fortunes, with Norris positioned to control the race from the front and Piastri looking to reset overnight and find the pace that has eluded him all weekend in Madrid.