Oscar Piastri will line up alongside pole-sitter and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris on the front row of the Italian Grand Prix.
The Australian recorded a best time of 1:19.436s in Qualifying 3, falling just over tenth shy of Norris’ final effort.
Piastri’s time was set on his first attempt in the final segment of the session, hanging on to the front row despite challenges from Mercedes and Ferrari.
“The car was very strong,” the 23-year-old said following the session.
“The first lap I did in Q3 was solid, a couple of little things to work on, but the second lap just wasn’t as good as it needed to be.
“Had a big wheelspin out of Turn 1, and it was a bit of a mess from there.
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“Just need to tidy it up a little bit at the end.”
McLaren and Piastri were expected to feature towards the front of the grid after showing promising pace through practice.
The three 60-minute sessions in the lead in to qualifying suggested it would not be all McLaren’s way, however, with both Mercedes and Ferrari demonstrating improved pace.
Red Bull Racing too was in contention, making for arguably the most open qualifying session of the season to date.
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“After practice it certainly wasn’t guaranteed to have this result,” Piastri noted.
“I think we very easily felt like we could have ended up seventh or eighth if we didn’t get it quite right.
“So to come away on the front row is a very good result.”
It’s a performance that, in concert with Norris’ pole, leaves McLaren on the front foot in championship terms.
Red Bull Racing leads the constructors’ championship though its margin is only 30 points.
Should Norris and Piastri hold their positions in the race, they’d net the team 43 points.
Max Verstappen meanwhile starts seventh, one spot up from Red Bull Racing colleague Sergio Perez, positions that net a combined 10 points should they finish there.
Such a performance would see McLaren lead the constructors’ championship come the conclusion of Sunday’s race.
It would also potentially reduce the drivers’ championship points gap to 51 between Norris and Verstappen with eight races remaining.
“For sure, it’s a good opportunity,” Norris said of the potential title implications.
“I expect [Verstappen] to go through and probably be behind us quite quickly, their race pace looked very strong on Friday – they were on the better side of the graining and the degradation.
“For some reason they just didn’t seem to take those steps forward through qualifying.
“Even Q2, he was right there and ended up quicker than me, even on a used tyre, but clearly even his gap to Perez wasn’t as big as what it normally is.
“I don’t know if he just struggled more with something or just didn’t put good enough laps in, but it’ll be for a reason, I’m sure, and we need to try and make the most of that.”
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