The result marked the third consecutive race in which Piastri has qualified seventh, with the Australian ending Q3 just 0.009s behind teammate Lando Norris, who will start one place ahead of him in sixth.
It was a disappointing outcome for McLaren after a strong start to the weekend at the Red Bull Ring, where Piastri finished third in FP1 before going second fastest in FP2.
The team had looked capable of being in the fight near the front after Friday practice, but slipped behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Max Verstappen in qualifying.
That drop-off was made more striking by McLaren’s dominance in Austria 12 months ago, when it finished one-two in the race.
“Just not quick enough for us unfortunately,” Piastri told Sky Sports after qualifying.
“I think the whole weekend has been half a tenth at most between the two of us. So we’re probably getting the most out of things.
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“The last lap was a little bit messy in a few places, but yeah, we didn’t have enough to go and challenge George [Russell] today. A little bit frustrating.
“We seemed like we were really competitive yesterday, and even at the start Q1 and Q2. So just missing that last little bit.”
McLaren’s qualifying result left it with work to do in the race, with Russell starting from pole ahead of the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
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Kimi Antonelli will start fourth, with Verstappen fifth after a late crash, leaving both McLarens on the third and fourth rows.
Piastri said Ferrari’s step forward from Friday had been particularly notable, with the Scuderia locking out second and third after appearing less threatening in practice.
“We’ll have to see. I think that Ferrari being in the top three is impressive,” Piastri said.
“They didn’t look amazing yesterday and today they’ve definitely made a step forward.
“And I think in the race they’re generally quick in all the corners, and not so much on the straights.
“So if that means they’ve got more downforce, then when it’s as hot as it is that’s only a good thing for them.”
With hot conditions expected again for the grand prix, tyre management could still offer McLaren a route back into contention, although Piastri admitted he expected a difficult race.
“I think it’s going to be a tough race and everyone will probably be pretty close on pace,” Piastri added.
Norris also conceded sixth and seventh was not where McLaren wanted to be, but felt the team had largely extracted what was available from the car.
“That was a good qualifying from us I think,” he said.
“P6, P7 in terms of position obviously is not where we want to be, but I think our laps were very close.
“We probably feel like we got a lot of the car today and it’s just where we realistically are.
“Of course you maybe expect a little bit more, and it was so close to the cars ahead. It’s easy to say more was possible, but I’m sure if you ask them they’ll say the same thing.”
Norris also played down any reliability concerns for the race, despite McLaren and engine supplier Mercedes having been affected by multiple issues at different points this season.
“No. There’s no concerns with reliability,” Norris said.
“We think we’re there or thereabouts. We certainly know we’re not as quick as the cars ahead of us, but we’ll give it a good shot like we did in Barcelona.
“We were not as quick as them, but I drove better and we kind of had a better race.
“Of course reliability is a part of it, and it’s part of racing. But there’s not a lot I can do when I’m on track.
“So we’ll see. It’s a long race. Many pit stops. A lot of things can happen on a day like tomorrow.
“So let’s stay in the race and see what we can do.”
The Austrian Grand Prix gets underway at 3pm local time on Sunday (11pm AEST).
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