Oscar Piastri Shelves Max Verstappen’s Dream of Creating History With “Unexpected” Sprint Pole

“Oscar Piastri is on pole!” Well, Sprint pole, but it still counts. After the way McLaren started the season, scrambling for positions at the back of the field, who would’ve thought Oscar Piastri would get his first pole position this season? Not to mention, in just his 17th race weekend. This stuff cannot be made up. The rookie, who McLaren fought for last season, joined the team and got up to speed so quickly that there’s a possibility he could leave his teammate in his dust. But that’s not even the best part. Who else did he leave beat during the Sprint Shootout at the Qatar GP? Reigning champion Max Verstappen.

McLaren made a miraculous turnaround this season. And the Qatar GP so far has been like a mini version of that. Coming into Qatar, McLaren looked set to seal at least one front-row and one second-row start for Sunday. After a disappointing qualifying on Friday, which saw both McLaren drivers lose lap times for exceeding track limits, that didn’t happen. In less than a day, McLaren has turned its fortunes around and sealed a 1-2 start for the Sprint!

Oscar Piastri slightly rained on Verstappen’s parade

This weekend marks Verstappen’s first opportunity to seal the Drivers’ Championship. The thing is, instead of achieving his third title conventionally on a Sunday, he can do it during the Sprint. Coming into the weekend, he had a 177-point lead in the championship. With just three more points to his name, it can all be over. With anything better than a P7 in the Sprint, Verstappen will be crowned the 2023 champion. Well, Oscar Piastri might’ve slightly ruined the Dutchman’s party.

Every driver has this mindset to perform the best they can. Considering Verstappen has the fastest car on the grid—the RB19—under him, the best for him is securing pole position every race weekend, followed by the race win. More often than not, that has been the case, as was seen yesterday. He secured his 10th pole of the season and would’ve wanted to continue that form into Saturday. But McLaren had other plans.

Throughout the Sprint Shootout, the McLarens and Verstappen looked on top of their games. In SQ3, though, Piastri was the only one of the three who kept it clean throughout. When Verstappen exceeded track limits on his first run, it opened the door for the McLarens. Lando Norris was on provisional pole and improving until the final corner of his final flying lap. He went wide and ruined his lap, and Piastri improved his time and snatched pole from Norris. What was his reaction after? “Well, that was unexpected.”

Read More: Oscar Piastri Dubbed as ‘David’ to Max Verstappen’s ‘Goliath’ Albeit With a Self-Destructive Warning

His somber reaction to this monumental achievement was the most Piastri thing Piastri could’ve done. But that’s exactly what makes up his personality. With Verstappen starting in P3, the reigning champion could still seal the championship and create history (by winning a championship on a Saturday in F1’s modern era and in a Sprint race for the first time), but if he wants the win—which he will—he’ll have to work for it. The best part about the entire thing is that Piastri redeemed himself.

Piastri knows how to accept defeat like a champion

Considering how well Piastri is already doing in F1, it’s difficult to imagine that this is only his first season in the sport. In his rookie season, he’s scored his first points, got his first front-row start, achieved a first podium, secured a pole position, and learned to let go. And he’s done it all brilliantly. After a missed opportunity in qualifying on Friday, the Aussie kept his chin up and looked ahead. In his post-qualifying interview, he said, “We’ll obviously get another crack at it tomorrow in qualifying and then in the Sprint, too. So, yeah, we’ll see what we can do.”

“We’ll try again, obviously. It’s a shame that we’re a bit further back for the main race, but this points to an upswing.” He maintained this positive mindset even after his interviews when he posted a hilarious update on social media. It was a picture of George Russell, Verstappen, and him—the top three after Norris’ demotion. He captioned it, “P1, 2 & 6 🤷‍♂️” He kept his head up and gave it everything today, redeeming himself. He’d sure hope to keep this form up in the Sprint as well, hoping to ruin Verstappen’s party some more.

Do you think Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris can hold off Max Verstappen’s charge?

WATCH THIS STORY | How Oscar Piastri Has Made a Scintillating Rise to the Pinnacle of Motorsport