Oscar Piastri has elucidated that his “laser-sharp” attention on “the little things” has contributed to his improved execution over one lap in the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Piastri admitted coming into the campaign that enhancing his qualifying record in comparison to McLaren team-mate Lando Norris was essential to his title chances.
The Australian’s sophomore campaign in 2024 comprised his debut victories as McLaren took the Constructors’ title, but he trailed a sizeable 82 points behind Norris.
Piastri’s extensive points margin to Norris, which relegated him to a support role late last season, stemmed from lining up behind Norris 20 times across the 24 races.
But the initial rounds this term signal the scoreline won’t be as one-sided as he was less than a tenth behind in Australia and logged his maiden pole position in China.
Piastri has revealed that a heightened emphasis on the more incremental details has been imperative to ensuring that his single-lap runs are more consistent in 2025.
When asked how he has gone about addressing his past low-fuel struggles, Piastri told media including Motorsport Week: “It was and still is about all the little things.
“I think even in the two qualifyings this year we’ve seen it being decided by very small margins. And I think last year I was often on the wrong end of those small margins.
“So it’s about trying to, in some ways yes, look at all those numbers, all the different things. How you manage the tyres, whether you get a slipstream or not.
“All kinds of little things that add up and might not look like much. But when you add them all together it’s the difference between, in a lot of cases now, first and second.
“Obviously an incredibly important part of the weekend now is qualifying on pole. So yes, it’s different everywhere you go.
“But I think it’s just being about laser sharp on all the little things. Obviously driving well and being confident with what you’re doing is the most important.
“But I feel like we’re all on that level that any little extra bit you can get is where the difference is.”
Piastri brimming with confidence
Piastri’s commanding showing in Shanghai was regarded as even more impressive considering the troubles that prompted some candid discussions 12 months ago.
And having recognised his turnaround wasn’t a “pleasant coincidence”, the Australian’s start to 2025 has consolidated the belief that he has resolved his deficiencies.
“I think Melbourne and China have both been two very good events,” he assessed.
“One with the result to show for it and one without. So I’ve been happy with how the whole season has been going so far.
“There’s been some things in Melbourne that I wanted to work on from the last two years as well and I felt like I worked on those and was competitive there.
“And then China obviously spoke for itself in terms of the results. So I’m very confident with how we’re going about things.
“I think I said in the pre-season this year that I didn’t feel like there was necessarily a hole left in my weaknesses as a driver.
“It was about just making sure that the dips along the way were filled in.
“I think obviously it’s been a very small sample size but I’ve been happy that, especially on one track that I struggled at a lot, the performance was so different 12 months later.
“So I think just trying to maintain that level of performance is what’s going to be important.”
Piastri not stressed over title race
Piastri managing a near-maximum points haul in China with second place in the Sprint saw him reduce his deficit to Norris in the Drivers’ Championship to 10 points.
But while he acknowledged that it was important to ensure his team-mate didn’t build up a vast advantage, Piastri has denied that he was worried about the situation.
“You never want to give any advantage away, whether it’s lap time, points,” he accepted. “You never want to give it away if you don’t have to.
“So, of course, I want to try and reverse that gap that we have. But with 22 races to go it would be a pretty stressful year if you were worrying about that gap already.
“So I think for me it’s just trying to make sure I execute every weekend to the best that I can.
“And I feel like the first two weekends of the year have been good examples of that. And I think if we do that then the points will naturally take care of itself.”
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