The McLaren driver narrowly missed out on matching teammate Lando Norris, who finished second behind Max Verstappen’s pole-winning effort.
Piastri said there were several places on the lap where he felt he lost time when asked about it by Sky Sports F1.
“In quite a few places I think,” he said.
“[It was] a pretty scruffy lap to be honest, I think.
“[I] just didn’t really get it together, so in some ways got a bit fortunate to be third.
“But I think the pace in the car is good and it’s nothing major.
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“It’s not like it’s been a disastrous day at all. Just been a little bit of a messy lap that I can hopefully tidy up for tomorrow.”
Piastri acknowledged the challenge of starting behind Verstappen and Norris in the Sprint, particularly at the notoriously tight Turn 1.
“[I’ll] see what happens at the start,” he said.
“If I can get a good launch then try and put myself in the right spot.
“Knowing where the right spot is into Turn 1 here is often tricky. So, see what happens up ahead.”
Despite not taking Sprint pole, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella praised the team’s performance overall, highlighting the competitiveness of the field and the improved pace of Red Bull.
“I think this is actually a relatively genuine representation of the competitive field,” Stella told Sky Sports F1.
“It’s very close at the top. It confirms that Red Bull have definitely improved their car. They are competitive now and can fight for victory and pole position in every kind of circuit.
“It’s also positive to see that our car here is competitive compared to some other venues in which we struggle a little bit. So I think it’s a good result.
“Not the result we wanted — we are here for pole positions, obviously — but I think it’s a good foundation for the Sprint Race tomorrow and also a good foundation to see where we can fine-tune a little bit of performance and give it another go at pole position tomorrow.”
Stella also noted that tyre degradation could play a bigger role in the Sprint than in recent races, potentially mixing up the order.
“I would expect here that the race, or the Sprint, [to be] more entertaining and there could be more variability based on the behaviour of the tyres,” he said.
“Normally, our car is decent when there is tyre degradation, so for many reasons, including this one, we look forward to the Sprint Race.”
Verstappen ultimately took pole with a lap of 1m32.143s, edging Norris by seven hundredths of a second.
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