Piastri ‘finding feet’ in Abu Dhabi as he predicts ‘pretty good’ chance of fighting for pole

Oscar Piastri felt that he was “finding [his] feet” during Free Practice 2 in Abu Dhabi after sitting out the day’s opening session, but the McLaren driver was left believing that he has a “pretty good” chance of fighting for pole position on Saturday.

With many teams opting to run a rookie driver in Friday’s opening practice hour, Piastri watched on from the pit wall as reserve driver Pato O’Ward took the wheel of his MCL39 before returning to action in the day’s second – and more representative – session.

The Australian logged 29 laps in that hour but ended up in P11 on the timesheets, with a low-key opening run on the soft tyres meaning that he was unable to match the pace of team mate Lando Norris, who was nearly seven-tenths clear at the top of the pack.

Reflecting back on the session after jumping out of the car, Piastri sounded a positive note as he explained: “I think I got there pretty well on the medium [tyres] – just the softs didn’t get the most out of the grip on that first timed lap.

“Finding my feet, I think, but clearly some things to try and improve for tomorrow. But I think after just one session, not too bad.”

Pushed on whether big changes might be needed overnight – or whether the focus would be more on smaller details – the 24-year-old responded: “I think it’s more just little details.

“The car feels like it’s in a pretty decent place, again just didn’t get the grip out of it in that first soft lap. Some small tweaks, of course – it didn’t feel perfect out there, but nothing major.”

Looking ahead to Saturday’s Qualifying, Piastri – who claimed his sixth career pole position last time out in Qatar – is hopeful about his chances of putting himself at the front of the grid again this weekend.

“I think pretty good,” he answered when asked about his prospects of battling for pole. “I think the car’s looked quick – just need to get some more laps under my belt and find my feet a bit more really, that’s all. A few more laps tomorrow, a few more sets of tyres, hopefully we’ll be there.”

Piastri remains one of three drivers in contention for the World Championship on Sunday, with the nine-time race winner 16 points adrift of fellow McLaren driver Norris and four behind second-placed Max Verstappen.