“Honestly, my lap… It hurts me to say, it was not a great lap. My Q1 run one was, but run two [there] was a little bit more and we’re still good enough for pole. So, a little bit surprised again, but very, very happy.”
Asked for his hopes and expectations in the race, he continued: “The same. Really, the same would be lovely. But like we’ve seen all weekend, it’s so close. There’s a lot of very quick drivers behind in quick cars, so I’m not expecting a very easy race tomorrow.
AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix
“[There are] a lot of unknown things going into the race with the degradation, the tyres, the tarmac. Plenty of question marks and plenty of excitement, I’m sure.”
Piastri, meanwhile, was left to ponder if a maiden pole position could have been on the cards with a cleaner final lap – having wound up just over a tenth away from team mate Norris.
“The first lap in Q3 was quite good, just the second one not quite enough, which I feel like I’ve said a few too many times this year,” he commented. “Still, a good performance, and a really good team effort.
