Having been 1-2 in every practice session, McLaren’s best-laid plans were disrupted when Leclerc took pole, giving him the edge at the difficult-to-overtake Hungaroring.
Piastri has form for winning at this venue while not in pole having secured his first F1 victory last season from P2, but the Hungarian race remains a track where qualifying position is key.
Asked where other than Turn 1 either McLaren driver could overtake Leclerc, Piastri said: “Pit lane? That’s probably it.”
He did at least admit he was “pretty confident” of success, having done so last year, but highlighted how quick Leclerc has been all weekend.
“Pretty confident. It was good last year, so hopefully it can be good again this year,” he said. “But yeah, like Charles said, there’s some rain around.
“We’ll see if that impacts the race. But I think our pace has been good, but Charles has been quick all weekend, in certain sessions. It is a very difficult track to overtake on, and it’s not going to be the easiest place to try and regain the lead.”
Team-mate Lando Norris spoke in similar terms, suggesting that Leclerc has been the only driver to challenge the McLarens in recent races.
“It depends what the weather is,” he said of the race. “Like the others said, could be some rain, which normally makes things more interesting. But I think we always have, at least in the race, a bit more of an advantage.
“But our main competitor over the last four, five races has been Charles and it’s been the Ferrari. So, if there was anyone else that’s going to be on pole today, it was going to be Charles.
“And if there’s anyone that’s going to make our life tough tomorrow, it’s going to be the same guy. So yeah, we’ll see. It’s a long race, things can happen, and hopefully the rain can be on our side maybe.”
Leclerc meanwhile said that rain could be a deciding factor in the race.
“I think there’s some rain around tomorrow, so if that is the case, then it’s obviously easier to overtake,” he said.
“But it’s always better to be starting first, especially on this track. So, I’m very happy with my starting position and now full focus on trying to keep it.”
