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Piastri avoids Miami disaster by 0.2 seconds
Emily Benammar • May 3rd, 2026 10:16 am
- Miami F1 is scheduled for Monday 6am AEST
“Build some oars” was Oscar Piastri’s recommendation ahead of the Miami Grand Prix as McLaren endured mixed results ahead of the race.
The team made an emphatic statement in the sprint race with Lando Norris crossing the line first from Piastri but the pendulum swung very much the other way in qualifying for the main event.
In fact Piastri was just 0.2 seconds from a total disaster in Q1.
The pair was lucky to make it into the second and third sessions and were eventually forced to settle for sixth (Norris) and seventh (Piastri) on the grid.
The Australian grappled with power issues on the Miami track.
“It was all a little bit random. Not the smoothest of sessions, especially the last lap of Q3,” Piastri said.
“I did what I thought was a good job through turn four, five and six, and then something weird happened and that’s why my middle sector was so good.
“I lost a whole bunch of time with the super clip when I didn’t expect it and then had more energy in the back straight.”
F1 organisers are braced for severe weather which is threatening the race start time on Monday (AEST).
Scheduled for lights out at 6am, a meeting will be held in the coming hours in Miami to decide if storms will impact the race and whether stats times will be adjusted.
Asked about the system that is homing in on Florida, Piastri said the team might “want to build some oars.”
Kimi Antonelli will start on pole for the third consecutive race this season with Max Verstappen finding some form to join him on the front row.
