“Car was a rocketship”: Oscar Piastri reflects on McLaren’s ‘mega’ result in the 2023 F1 British GP qualifying

Oscar Piastri recently reflected on his stellar qualifying session at the 2023 F1 British GP. The Australian rookie stunned the F1 world with an incredible performance and will start P3 on Sunday, behind his teammate Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.

McLaren provided Piastri with a heavily upgraded car in Silverstone, after being successful in Austria with Norris the last time around. The rookie driver was quick to deliver, finishing behind only his highly-rated teammate Lando Norris and two-time world champion Max Verstappen, who claimed his fifth consecutive pole position of the season.

As such, this is Piastri's best-ever result in qualifying, showcasing why the Papaya team hired him at the start of this year. Although Lando Norris has been consistently ahead of the Australian driver so far this year, Oscar Piastri has been known for his ruthless speed in other junior categories of racing.

Speaking to Jenson Button in parc fermé after the session, Piastri stated:

"Very very very happy. What a qualifying session. We were almost out in Q1 and then the car was a rocketship in Q2 and Q3. Feel like I put a pretty good lap together so massive result for the team as well. To have both of us up here as well is a big result and now let's try and stay there for tomorrow."

---

Lando Norris jokes that he doesn't like the fact that Oscar Piastri is fast

McLaren's Lando Norris hilariously pointed out that he doesn't like the fact that his teammate and 2023 rookie Oscar Piastri is a very fast driver. The former F2 champion dominated the junior categories and moved to McLaren after quitting Alpine's test driver program at the end of the 2022 season.

With the Woking-based team, the Australian hasn't been as fast as Norris, but is able to challenge the Briton in a way that his former teammate Daniel Ricciardo couldn't accomplish. During a promotional event in the USA, Lando Norris spoke about Oscar Piastri:

"He's good for a guy in his first year in F1. it's pretty impressive. […] we get along well, and we work together well. […] he's competitive, he's fast, which I don't like, but it's good for the whole team.”

With both McLaren drivers starting P2 and P3 right behind two-time world champion Max Verstappen on Sunday, it will be interesting to see if they can hold off the charging Mercedes' and Ferraris behind them.