McLaren 'scratching our heads' at lack of pace as Piastri and Norris miss out on British GP pole

Oscar Piastri admits that McLaren have "been scratching our heads" over a lack of pace as both he and team mate Lando Norris were beaten to pole position for the British Grand Prix by Max Verstappen.

Piastri enters the race at Silverstone this weekend 15 points clear of Norris in the Drivers' Championship, the McLaren duo having dominated last time out in Austria, and 61 points ahead of Verstappen approaching the halfway point of the season.

But that pace advantage from the Red Bull Ring has been missing so far this weekend in Britain as cooler conditions have allowed Verstappen, as well Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, to close the gap.

"The team has done a great job, we've tried a lot of things this weekend, trying to get a bit more pace," said Piastri post-Qualifying.

"The car has felt mega all weekend but there's been a few points where we've been scratching our heads why we're not quicker."

Piastri sat on provisional pole position after the first set of runs in Q3 on Saturday but ultimately failed to improve with his final effort, which allowed Verstappen to snatch top spot by just 0.103s with his last lap.

The Australian admitted that it was hard to find additional time with his second effort having felt the first attempt was near the limit.

"The first lap was mega to be honest," said Piastri. "I was trying to think how I was going to go faster and I didn't.

"The last lap was a little bit messy but it's been tight all weekend. I think the first lap was very good, I don't know how much the track would have improved but a little bit on the table, we'll never know if it was enough."

Norris finished just 0.015s behind his team mate but will start from the second row on Sunday with a maiden home win in his sights having claimed victory a week ago in Austria.

The Briton, who believes "little margins, little mistakes" proved the difference as drivers battled with changeable wind conditions through the high-speed turns, stated that a number of drivers will be in genuine contention during the race.

"I think it's going to be fun tomorrow. I think it's going to be a good battle between the three of us," he said.

"Probably more with Lewis [Hamilton] and Charles [Leclerc], George [Russell], as well [in sixth for Mercedes]. It's going to be an interesting Sunday so I'm looking forward to it."