The Australian had looked set to bounce back from his Sprint race crash earlier in the day when he briefly held provisional pole in Q3, but was ultimately unable to improve on his final lap as McLaren teammate Lando Norris claimed pole ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc.
“I just didn’t go any faster. I think that was the biggest thing,” Piastri said.
“Yeah, just very different conditions to what we had yesterday I would say. And just everything felt much trickier today.
“So, yeah, obviously it’s a bit disappointing with the result. But the car’s looked quick this weekend, especially over a longer run, so hopefully I can take advantage of that tomorrow.”
It capped an up-and-down Saturday for the McLaren driver, who earlier crashed out of third in the Sprint after losing control on the damp kerb at Turn 3.
That incident allowed Norris to extend his championship lead to nine points, adding further frustration for Piastri as he watched his teammate convert pole into another victory.
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Despite the setback, Piastri insisted he remains ready to fight back in the race.
“Definitely,” he said when asked about the title battle.
“I think ultimately I’ll try and take whatever opportunities arise. And, yeah, if I can make progress forwards and put some pressure on then I will. But got to get there first.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said Piastri’s qualifying result didn’t reflect his true potential, explaining that gusting winds and fluctuating grip made conditions difficult for both drivers.
“The conditions were very unpredictable with the gusting wind,” he said.
“We saw even Lando in the first attempt was caught by these unpredictable conditions.
“He lost the lap in corner one and two with a lock-up. He did a very good job staying calm on the second lap — just making sure that he was nice and clean, and this was enough for pole position, considering that Lando has been very fast throughout the weekend.”
Stella added that Piastri was also affected by the same conditions, suggesting the 24-year-old’s pace could return come race day.
“I feel we had good pace on Oscar as well. He was caught by some of these little glitches in terms of grip and wind in both laps,” he said.
“So there was a little bit more to come on Oscar’s side. But I’m sure this will come back to us tomorrow in the race.”
Despite missing out on a front-row start, Piastri’s fourth-place grid slot remains his best since Singapore, leaving him well placed to mount a response in Sunday’s 71-lap contest.
The Sao Paulo Grand Prix begins at 2pm local time (4am AEDT Monday).
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