When Formula 1 Grid arrived in Shanghai for China's Grand Prix, there was all hope that McLaren would be in Paul's position.
That's certainly true when Oscar Piastri was attacked in front of George Russell and teammate Rand Norris to secure the position of the first Grand Prix pole of his younger career.
Piastri attributed his Paul's position to the decision to “send” to the hairpin at Turn 14, offering what he called “his life hairpin” on Team Radio.
Piastri spoke about his two push laps in the third quarter FIA Press Conference.
“Yeah, my first lap was honestly better than my second lap, but I lost some time with the hairpin at the end of the straight and didn't do the best hairpin,” Piastri explained. “And I was about two-half of the second round, so I just went a little. Why not send it to my hairpin?
“Yeah, honestly, without it, I would have wanted to box it up before that.
Russell starts with Piastri in the front row, with Norris just behind his P3 McLaren teammate. Max Verstappen will be in fourth, with Ferrari duo of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc closing out the top six.
Piastri's efforts have also set new achievements. The young Australian driver closed the previous record set by Hamilton at the Resurfaced Circuit in Shanghai earlier this week.
Its new surface is a major flash point during the Chinese Grand Prix, with an increase in grip resulting in a higher level of tire degradation. Piastri hopes that by running ahead with clean air, he will be able to avoid tire wear that has plagued some of the other teams in Formula 1 sprint races earlier in the day. Hamilton starts with Paul and escapes from a field of clean air, and Piastri wants to replicate that effort on Sunday in Shanghai.
“I think the biggest thing is to make sure your tires survive.” Piastri said after the qualifying round.. “I think we saw people this morning saying they can take care of their tires, but that wasn’t really true – people who can manage the best were the fastest.
“But we think we saw Lewis in the morning before mid-war period, and it probably helped him in the long run,” Piastri added. “Yeah, I think it will be a pretty interesting race, and it is probably the most degree we've seen and the most grain we've seen in a long time.
