Oscar Piastri has disclosed that enhancing his qualifying performance is his primary objective for the 2025 F1 season after losing the internal battle at McLaren to his teammate. The head-to-head between the two saw Lando Norris outqualify Oscar Piastri 21 times, with Piastri prevailing only 3 times. Even in sprint qualifying sessions, often by narrow margins, Lando Norris had the upper hand over the Australian. Yet, in his debut season with McLaren in 2023, Piastri had outqualified his teammate on seven occasions.
However, Oscar Piastri’s regression might actually be more attributable to the number of mistakes Norris made the year before when he frequently found himself at the back of the grid.
In 2024, the British driver worked with the team during the offseason to address his weaknesses and enhance his performance under pressure. It seems Oscar Piastri might need a similar introspective process to iron out the shortcomings he exhibited in qualifying during 2024.
Oscar Piastri’s comments
In an interview with Autosport, Oscar Piastri addressed the issue, took responsibility, and set his goals for the upcoming season.
“This season, I feel I’ve made great strides, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement. The biggest issue has been qualifying. I don’t think I’ve ever made life easy for myself in races because of this. So that’s the big goal for next season: to find those last hundredths, those last tenths.
I feel like I’ve been able to show what I’m capable of in all other areas,” continued the Australian, “and I’ve also shown improvement. So now it’s just about putting everything together. The gaps now are very small or non-existent, so if I can put everything together, I’ll be on the right track.”
One positive aspect, according to Oscar Piastri, is that he seems to have a clear idea of how to improve his qualifying performance. When Autosport asked him whether he was confident about making the necessary step, Piastri answered with certainty.
“I think so. The important thing for me is that there were very few occasions where I struggled to understand where I lost time on the fast lap. After qualifying in Abu Dhabi [where he finished two-tenths behind pole-sitter Norris], I immediately understood where I went wrong. It’s not about finding more pace but about being at my best every time.
When I’ve been at my best, I think I’ve done quite well. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room to grow, but the encouraging thing is that the potential has always been there.
The next step is realizing that potential every weekend. If I can do that, we’re in for a fun season.”
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