Piastri relieved to grab pole ahead of ‘interesting’ race in Spain as Norris blames ‘little mistakes’ for missing out

Oscar Piastri was delighted to snatch pole position as a thrilling shootout against McLaren team mate Lando Norris played out in the final stages of Qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix, with Norris blaming “little mistakes” for losing out during the last flying runs.

Norris became the man to beat after the opening laps of Q3, the Briton having secured provisional pole ahead of Piastri. However, the momentum swung to the championship leader in the closing moments of the session as he stormed through to go fastest – an effort that Norris could not beat when he subsequently crossed the line 0.209s adrift of the other papaya car.

READ MORE: Piastri beats Norris to pole position in thrilling Spanish GP Qualifying as McLaren lock out front row

With this marking the biggest pole margin of the year so far – as well as being Piastri’s fourth pole position of the season – the 24-year-old was thrilled with the outcome of his Qualifying, a result that marked a contrast to his P10 on Saturday in Spain back in 2024.

“[I’m] very happy,” said Piastri. “It’s been a good weekend so far. Didn’t start off in the best way, we were struggling a little bit but I think last night we found some pace and today the car’s been mega.

“I feel like I’ve been able to put in some good laps as well so thank you to the team for all the hard work. This was a pretty miserable scene 12 months ago, so to have turned it around in the best way is a great result.”

Pushed on where he found the time to beat Norris during his final lap, the six-time race winner explained: “I improved quite a lot in Turn 1 actually, and then there were a couple of other places in the lap where I’d been struggling a bit all day.

FACTS AND STATS: A first front row lock-out in Spain for McLaren since 1998 as Piastri grabs biggest pole margin of the season

“I don’t know if I necessarily did better but it all just came to me, mainly in the first half of the lap. In the second half, I could just about hang on. It wasn’t the perfect lap, but I think around here with the tyres going off so much through the lap it’s very tough to do that, so I’m very happy with all the work we put in.”

Looking ahead to Sunday’s race – in which the McLaren duo will line up ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and the Mercedes of George Russell – Piastri indicated that it could be an intriguing afternoon.

“It’s going to be an interesting one tomorrow and I’m pretty glad I’m starting from pole,” he conceded. “It’s obviously a long run to Turn 1, so [I’ve] got to make sure I try and get a good start tomorrow.

“But I’m very proud of the work done today and I’m starting in the best spot, so I can't thank the team enough and hopefully we can have some fun tomorrow.”

Norris, meanwhile, was left to rue some errors during his own lap but praised the performance of his team mate, commenting: “Oscar drove very well. I think the pace is definitely there, just a couple of little mistakes.

AS IT HAPPENED: Follow the action from Spanish GP Qualifying as Piastri takes impressive pole

“I didn’t do it, and Oscar like I said was driving well all weekend so a good result for the team, a nice 1-2 and an interesting start for tomorrow.”

A small moment occurred between the McLaren cars during the initial runs of Q3 when Norris gained a tow from Piastri, resulting in the Australian calling it “cheeky”.

When asked if this hinted at the potential battle that could unfold between them on Sunday, the Briton responded: “Hopefully not, hopefully it’s just an easy race for me!

“I expect it, it’s a long run down to Turn 1. Normally it’s interesting and we’ve got a lot of quick guys behind us, so we won’t count them out. A good result for today, I’m happy.”