‘We can definitely fight with what we’ve got’ – Piastri determined to change his fortunes in Sao Paulo Sprint

Oscar Piastri is prepared to chase down Lando Norris in Sao Paulo after he was forced to settle for third position in Sprint Qualifying, viewing this weekend as a potential turning point after a challenging few rounds.

The Australian was almost neck and neck with his team mate in the sole practice session, finishing just 0.023s adrift of the top spot, but he was unable to maintain the same gap in Sprint Qualifying.

While Norris secured pole position, Piastri found himself 0.185s behind, with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli separating the two.

One reason for his drop in pace was the mandatory switch to soft tyres in SQ3, which saw drivers struggle to find consistent grip around the bumpy circuit. At one point, Piastri suffered a snap of oversteer that impacted his lap time, but he ended the session eager to take the lesson into the rest of the weekend.

“The soft was just a bit different to what I expected,” he summarised. “I had a couple of big moments on my first lap which wasn’t ideal. That was a bit of a shame, but ultimately I felt much happier today than the last couple of weeks.

“Practice went very well and for Sprint Qualifying I think we changed a few things which took a little bit of getting used to again. Ultimately, I’m pretty happy.

“I would have liked a little bit more but we can definitely fight with what we’ve got and there are obviously a lot more points on Sunday.”

Although Norris appears to be the more dominant driver this weekend, having topped FP1 and all three segments of Sprint Qualifying, the potential of rain ahead of the Sprint could open the door for Piastri to keep the points battle as close as ever.

With an unwanted streak of four rounds without a podium finish, the 24-year-old is hoping for a return to his previous strong form to stay in the fight for his first championship title.

He said: “It’s going to be an interesting day. We’ll see what weather we get. I’ll try and take whatever opportunities there are.

“I think the pace in the car has been really good today so hopefully that translates to whatever we get.”