Piastri reveals where pole ‘went away’ from him during Miami Sprint Qualifying as Norris pleased to be back ‘in a good ballpark’

Oscar Piastri believes he would have secured pole position for the Miami Grand Prix Sprint race without a small mistake on his final SQ3 run, but the McLaren driver still described himself as “pretty happy” with P2 on the grid.

Piastri arrived at the Miami International Autodrome as F1’s new championship leader and was one of several drivers in the mix for Sprint pole – ultimately being pipped by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli by just under half a tenth of a second.

READ MORE: Antonelli storms to remarkable maiden pole ahead of Piastri and Norris during Sprint Qualifying in Miami

Reflecting on his session, Piastri said: “It wasn’t the best lap ever... I had a lock-up into the last corner, which I think was probably where pole went away, but P2 is still a good result.

“We can still fight from there in the Sprint tomorrow, so all in all, I’m pretty happy.”

Pushed on whether he feels in the mix for the 100-kilometre Sprint and the Qualifying and Grand Prix sessions to follow, the Australian added: “Yeah, definitely. I think we’ve got a bit more pace to unlock, hopefully.

“I’m feeling positive still. We’ll try and make up a spot tomorrow in the Sprint before we get stuck into where the big points are.”

AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from Sprint Qualifying in Miami as Antonelli takes stunning pole

On the other side of the McLaren garage, Lando Norris qualified third fastest as he looks to wrestle the championship lead back from his team mate.

“Good!” Norris smiled of the outcome, after his low-key performance and crash in the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian grid-deciding sessions.

“A close, close Qualifying. It felt good. I’m happy just to get a good lap in there. It was close, so not much more I could ask for.”

Asked about his chances in the Sprint, and how he feels being back at the track where he claimed his first F1 win a year ago, the Briton said: “A lot of good memories here, but at the same time, you forget about it – it doesn’t matter, it’s in the past.

READ MORE: ‘I did not expect it!’ – Antonelli ‘over the moon’ with debut pole in Miami Sprint Qualifying

“I’m concentrating on this weekend and today’s performance, which I think was in a good ballpark. Obviously not good enough, but it shows how close it is, it shows how quick the Mercedes [cars] are, and both of us are behind [Antonelli].

“A bit of a job to do for the Sprint race tomorrow, but close enough that we can still try and aim for a pole [in Qualifying].”