Oscar Piastri was slightly frustrated following a second-place finish in Saturday’s sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Australian showed good pace in Sprint Qualifying, securing pole position with a lap that was nearly five tenths faster than second-place Max Verstappen.

However, the Dutchman was able to overtake Piastri on the opening lap of the sprint race using the slipstream down the long Kemmel straight.

The McLaren driver spent the remainder of the 15-lap race unsuccessfully trying to pass Verstappen, despite keeping pace with the Red Bull driver throughout.

After the race, Piastri took solace in the second-place finish, but admitted in his struggles to try to regain first.

He said: “I tried my best to snake my way through the straights and not give too much of a tow (on the first lap), but I didn’t have enough straight-line speed.

“I didn’t have enough for the next 15 laps either.

“Still a good result, good points. Pretty happy but a bit frustrated I couldn’t get past.”

The 24-year-old, who holds a nine-point lead over his teammate Lando Norris in the driver’s championship, will now turn his attention to Sunday’s full-length race.

Rain is forecast for that day, adding an extra variable for the drivers, who may choose to alter their setups for the race to increase downforce to better suit wet conditions.

Piastri however, was hesitant to agree with this, having seen the straight-line speed advantage Red Bull had in the sprint race, the Australian wants to ensure his car is a match for Verstappen’s on Spa-Francorchamps’ long straights.

He said: “The weather is looking pretty bad for tomorrow which means you don’t want to take off too much wing.

“But I don’t want to repeat what I’ve just experienced either.”

Qualifying for Sunday’s race will start at 15:00 BST on Saturday 26th July.