Oscar Piastri rues ‘story of this weekend’ as McLaren MCL39 ‘behaviour comes out to play’

Oscar Piastri suffered a frustrating Saturday at the United States Grand Prix, which ended with him P6 only on the grid.

Caught up in a crash with Nico Hulkenberg and McLaren teammate Lando Norris at the start of the Sprint, Piastri has left himself with work to do in the Grand Prix, as the Drivers’ Championship leader looks to recapture some much-needed momentum. Piastri pointed to a “kind of behaviour” from the McLaren MCL39 which made a return in Austin.

Oscar Piastri: ‘It’s just not clicked’

Colliding with Hulkenberg at Turn 1 in the Sprint, Piastri was sent onto two wheels and slamming into Norris, eliminating both McLarens. Max Verstappen meanwhile raced on to victory, taking another eight points out of Piastri’s Championship buffer.

Verstappen once more claimed pole for the Grand Prix, while Piastri’s other title rival, Norris, joins Verstappen on the front row. Piastri will need to come through the pack from sixth.

With a gap of almost three-tenths to Norris, Piastri was asked whether the repairs required on his McLaren, after the Sprint crash, had any impact on his qualifying performance.

“No, I don’t think so,” he replied to PlanetF1.com and other media outlets. “The car was back in one piece, and as far as I’m aware, set up how we intended.

“It all felt normal. Just the kind of behaviour that we’ve had a couple of times through the season, came out to play again today. So I don’t think it was necessarily from this morning.”

It was put to Piastri that there has been a shift in momentum between the McLaren title combatants, with Norris the stronger driver in Singapore, here, and across the second-half of F1 2025 in general. The idea of a momentum shift was not a statement which Piastri agreed with.

Nonetheless, he admitted that it has “just not clicked” for him so far this weekend in Austin.

“I’m not sure I share the same opinion about Singapore,” Piastri challenged. “I feel like it was a good weekend, apart from, obviously the race result.

“I think here, yes, has been a struggle for me. I don’t feel like I’ve made any major mistakes. So from a driving side of things, it’s just not clicked.

“It’s not been so much of overdriving, it’s just been I haven’t felt comfortable with the car, really. So I think that’s been the story of this weekend, but I don’t think it’s been the story of the last few.”

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris head-to-head in F1 2025

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Asked how he will approach the start, from a rather unfamiliar lowly P6, Piastri replied: “I mean, I’ve started in that position before in my career.

“But, just try and do what I do every time, which is take the opportunities that are there, assess the risks that there are, and ultimately, just try and do my best. That’s all I can do.”

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock

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