Piastri: I know I don’t claim the title…

On the first day of the Brazilian race weekend, Oscar Piastri won qualifying for the sprint, but his teammate Lando Norris will start in second place on Saturday. The Australian McLaren driver admitted he was prepared to give up the victory…

Oscar Piastri (1st): “It wasn’t an easy session, but I felt comfortable behind the wheel from the start of the weekend. Over the course of each session the grip gradually improved, although this year on the track it is difficult to see where to go, and with that comes difficulties.

But I’m very happy that I won the sprint qualification!

My first lap wasn’t very good and I knew I needed to improve in some areas, but the second lap was good and the tires held up. Overall I am very happy that I will start from pole position in the sprint tomorrow.

I will try to win, that is my mentality. Because the track surface has been renewed, the sprint will be different than last year and we will also see what the weather and temperature will be like. But I will start from the most favorable position and try to maintain it.

However, we will see what speed my partner and I will be capable of tomorrow. I think first of all we have to hold the first two positions after the start, and then we will see in which order our cars will be on the track.

I know I don’t claim to win the individual competition, and for the team it doesn’t matter in which order we finish, I understand that. I have already said that I am willing to give up victory. Of course it would be nice to win, but this is a sprint, not the main race, and the difference is only one point, so we’ll see.

Lando needs these points much more, because he is fighting for the title, although he still wants to win. I’m sure if I do my best and show good pace, it won’t go unnoticed.”

Lando Norris (2nd): “I felt quite comfortable behind the wheel, we made significant improvements compared to training. But even I was surprised at how fast we were in qualifying; it was of course a pleasant surprise.

I rode well on my first lap, but in the second I made a few mistakes and returned to the pits. But the team still did well… I just hate questions about how the situation is developing in the fight for the title, and for now I’m not thinking about the championship at all, I’m just trying to do my best job as best as possible.

I don’t care who has shown what the qualification delivers, I am fully focused on the tasks ahead and tomorrow I intend to do everything I can.

Moreover, tomorrow is a completely new day and we have definitely improved and we will see what we can achieve in Saturday’s sprint.”