Oscar Piastri has targeted a berth in Qualifying 3 for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at a minimum despite a disrupted opening day of running in Yas Marina.
Though two practice sessions were held, only the second offered teams much in the way of comparative conditions for both qualifying and the race.
However, Free Practice 2 was twice interrupted by red flags, leaving just 26 minutes of running in the all-important session.
“Not the smoothest day for everyone, FP2 was pretty disrupted there,” Piastri observed.
“Definitely a few things to work on, but the car looks really competitive.
“I’m confident in what I’m able to do, just need to tidy up a couple of mistakes and we’ll be good.”
Piastri ended Free Practice 2 10th fastest, 0.552s off the outright pace set by Charles Leclerc.
Second fastest was Lando Norris in the other McLaren, just 0.043s slower than the pace-setting Ferrari, demonstrating the potential the papaya squad boasts this weekend.
“I think Q3 is definitely the minimum,” Piastri declared.
“I think Lando showed the pace of the car now. I’m pretty confident if I get everything together I can be there as well.
“Maybe we didn’t fully see what Red Bull’s pace was like today, but I think we’re fighting well and truly at the front.”
The challenge for Piastri and McLaren will be fine-tuning set-up ahead of qualifying, with Free Practice 3 set to take place in the afternoon sun.
Track conditions will, therefore, be significantly different, with higher track temperatures than when cars roll out for either qualifying or Sunday’s race.
“P3’s going to be very different track conditions,” Piastri noted.
“You’ve got to be very careful with what you learn there.
“But no, I think the car’s in a decent spot. A few things to tweak here and there, a few things to change on my driving, but no, all in all, it’s in a good place.”
Free Practice 3 begins at 14:30 local time on Saturday (21:30 AEDT), Qualifying to follow at 18:00 (01:00 AEDT Sunday).
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