The Australian will start the Sprint Race from fifth after ending the session less than a tenth behind teammate Lando Norris, but more than seven tenths adrift of the dominant Silver Arrows led by George Russell.
Reflecting on his final attempt in SQ3, Piastri said the step up in tyre performance was noticeable but admitted Mercedes’ advantage was striking.
“It was reasonable,” he said of his final lap.
“I think the step in grip from the medium to the soft was pretty big. But, yeah, obviously the gap to Mercedes is pretty impressive.
“So, some things for us to try and work on. But I think the car felt pretty good.
“It was a pretty decent lap, so yeah, I don’t think there was too much left.”
While McLaren showed competitive pace through parts of the lap, Piastri pointed to the final sector as the area where the time deficit was most obvious.
“I think sector one we seemed good obviously,” he said.
“But yeah, six tenths in the last sector is impressive.
“So we’ll go and have a look at where we’re losing the time.”
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The result still places both McLaren drivers firmly in contention behind the front-running Mercedes cars, with Norris qualifying third to give the Woking outfit two strong starting spots for Saturday’s Sprint.
Team Principal Andrea Stella felt there were encouraging signs from the session, particularly in how the team managed its power unit usage compared to earlier running.
“I think there’s some indications of improvements, especially, I would say, in the way we understand how to use the power unit,” he said.
“There was less variability in the first practice session.
“More clarity as to how we were using it during qualifying and this was realised in some better lap times which allow us to qualify behind Mercedes, that, at the moment, are out of reach.”
Despite acknowledging Mercedes’ current advantage, Stella said McLaren remained well placed in the fight just behind them.
“It’s good to see that McLaren can fight for the runner-up position together with Ferrari,” he added.
“A good start position with Oscar and Lando. They both drove very well.
“And it’s a good situation for the Sprint tomorrow.”
Both Norris and Piastri could potentially move up the grid for the Sprint Race, with front-row starter Kimi Antonelli under investigation for impeding the world champion during SQ2.
As Norris approached the Italian into Turn 1 on a push lap, he was baulked by the Mercedes driver, with stewards set to review the incident.
Stella said he was unsure how the stewards’ verdict would go, noting it was unclear if Norris’ lap would have been a quick one.
“Well in reality it was unclear whether you would do the warm up lap or the push lap,” Stella explained.
“So in the end, because of the way he was using the energy, I think that was not going to be a fast lap.
“But the stewards will take a look.”
Chinese GP: Sprint Qualifying Results
