Oscar Piastri pinpointed that he has taken a “step forward” with McLaren’s 2025 Formula 1 car during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend as he stormed to pole position.
Piastri delivered on the blistering speed that McLaren had showcased en route to achieving a clean sweep through practice to secure his second pole in three rounds.
The Australian had topped the times in FP3 with a dominant six-tenths gap to his team-mate Lando Norris, who lamented an error as he qualified down in sixth place.
Piastri, though, maintained his composure in the all-important top-10 shootout to eclipse George Russell’s Mercedes to add to the pole he earned in China last month.
“Yeah, very happy,” Piastri told media including Motorsport Week. “I think the car all weekend has been in a good place.
“Maybe not in FP1, but I don’t think anyone’s car was very good in FP1. So, yeah, since then I felt very comfortable all weekend.
“And, yeah, this morning was, I think given the track conditions, a pretty solid performance. And, yeah, the car was very similar this afternoon.
“So I’m very, very happy with the job we’ve done. I’m proud of the job that I’ve done.
“I feel like I’ve put in a lot of good laps when I needed to. And, yeah, to come away with pole, obviously very nice.”
Piastri divulged that his five-tenth improvement between his initial timed attempt in Q3 and his second run came down to extracting incremental gains across the lap.
Asked where he discovered more time, Piastri responded: “A little bit everywhere, I think. I honestly can’t remember exactly where, but just little bits around the lap.
“The first that I had in Q3 had done kind of an out lap on the red flag in Q2. And I don’t know if that made a difference or not.
“But when you leave the garage and they’re not nice and shiny like they normally are, maybe there’s a psychological thing as well.
“So, yeah, just found a little bit of time everywhere. And it was a very solid lap. Maybe a little bit wide in [Turn] 13, but the rest of the lap was pretty solid. So I’m very happy.”
McLaren surprised by reduced gap
Piastri expressed he was surprised to see Russell prop up less than two tenths behind, despite admitting that McLaren was shocked with the advantage it had in FP3.
“I think the performance we had in FP3 was, yeah, even a mystery to us,” he professed. “And I think we knew everyone would get a lot closer.
“I think it’s been kind of up and down for everybody. You know, one session seems to be Charles that’s challenging us, then George. Max was quick at certain points.
“So it sort of seemed like everyone was peaking at different times.
“And, yeah, still had to be on my toes because I think, yeah, tenth and a half was a bit closer than I expected after this morning, definitely.”
Piastri not succumbing to Norris issues
The ease with which Piastri has been able to maximise the potential within McLaren’s MCL39 has been a contrast to the woes that his team-mate Norris has endured.
Piastri, who has avoided the fluctuations that have hindered Norris, indicated that his more stable baseline has allowed him to focus on unlocking more performance.
“FP1 was a bit of a write-off for everyone, I think,” the Australian recalled. “But FP2 already I felt pretty confident.
“FP3 this morning was obviously very strong, but in conditions that weren’t particularly representative.
“I kind of wished that that was when qualifying was. But yeah, I think I’ve been comfortable with the car from FP2. We’ve not had to change too much from then.
“And yeah, I think for myself, it’s been a car that’s been relatively straightforward to put consistent laps on the board.
“And it’s been quick as well, which is obviously the most important thing. So yeah, I just felt very comfortable this weekend.
“I think I felt comfortable the whole season so far with the car we’ve got.
“But I think this weekend has been another step forward on top of that, which I think I was able to show today.”
READ MORE – Oscar Piastri takes pole position in Bahrain as Lando Norris flounders
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