McLaren F1 rookie Oscar Piastri wowed fans with stunning bit of driving to avoid disaster

Oscar Piastri failed to pass the first qualifying stage on his F1 Grand Prix debut in Bahrain, but the rookie impressed fans by dodging disaster during practice.

The 21-year-old from Melbourne will have to start from 18th of 20th on the grid for Sunday’s race after his beleaguered British team McLaren was left contemplating their cars’ lack of race pace.

While Piastri didn’t wow the world with his pace on the track, he exhibited sublime driving skills during a dangerous time.

The Australian was racing Yuki Tsunoda down the main straight when Canadian Lance Stroll appeared in the middle of the circuit after exiting pitlane in his Aston Martin.

Piastri displayed amazing reflexes to avoid crashing into Stroll’s Aston Martin, or throwing anyone off the track with his maneuver.

The Australian was racing Yuki Tsunoda down the main straight when Canadian Lance Stroll appeared in the middle of the circuit after exiting pitlane in his Aston Martin. Piastri displayed amazing reflexes to avoid crashing into Stroll’s Aston Martin, or driving anyone else off the track with his maneuver.

In his first qualifying session, Piastri posted 1 minute 32.101 seconds for his fastest lap, which meant he missed out on Q2 by 0.409 seconds.

“I made too many mistakes, especially on that second lap in Q1,” he said, while suggesting that some debris on the track from the bodywork of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, which triggered a red flag, did not help his cause.

‘Yes, too many mistakes on my part.’

But Piastri remained optimistic about making up places in Sunday’s race.

“I think we can try to make up some places tomorrow, that will be the plan, definitely,” he said.

“Our straight-line speed is probably not our strongest point. For me, it will be a good opportunity to get back into the rhythm of racing. It will be my first race in quite some time, so I will make the most of it. I’m excited.

“I wish today would have gone a little better and a little higher, but tomorrow will be a new day.”

Despite his disappointment, there were also words of encouragement from McLaren CEO Zak Brown about the young Victorian’s performance.

In his first qualifying session, Piastri clocked 1 minute 32.101 seconds for his fastest lap, which meant he missed out on Q2 by 0.409 seconds.

What McLaren did not want, however, was to see other teams in F1’s ‘midfield’ overtake them, and Brown admitted the team has a lot of work ahead of it.

After a good final practice on Saturday in which he finished ninth and was quicker than Norris, hopes were high in the McLaren camp that the new kid to the team could at least make it past Q1.

But Brown was happy that the rookie had come close to Norris’s times.

“It’s good: Oscar has Lando’s attention, which is exactly what we want, so he’s doing a great job this weekend,” Brown said.

They will push each other, which is what you want.

What McLaren did not want, however, was to see other teams in F1’s ‘midfield’ overtake them, and Brown admitted the team has a lot of work ahead of it.

“That was not a great session for us,” he admitted on Sky Sports. Our two guys didn’t have a good first sector.

“But tomorrow we will give everything we have and see if we can get our cars into the points.”

Asked if the team could expect potential improvements soon, Brown added: “We’ve got things coming up in some races that will hopefully give us a lot more grip, which the drivers say we’re missing right now.

“We’re still working on the rear of the car, so getting a bit of traction seems to be our challenge.”