On Sunday, McLaren Racing’s Oscar Piastri will start his 50th F1 race from pole position, having out-performed his rivals in the Bahrain GP Qualifying to claim pole position. Despite an uncomfortable FP1, Piastri improved steadily throughout the weekend, settling in around the Sakhir International Circuit while enjoying the strong pace of the MCL39. Though he did not dominate the session, Piastri, in his track interview, admitted that while qualifying had been closer than he had wanted, he was happy to have delivered his best laps at the right moment.
“I felt confident out there pretty much all weekend, to be honest,” Piastri said when asked about his weekend in Bahrain.
“FP1 was… an experience for us all. I think it felt more like a rally car than an F1 car, but from then on I’ve felt really comfortable with the car. In FP3 we had good pace and yeah, qualifying, you know, the others caught up a little bit closer than what I wanted. But yeah, still delivered the laps when it mattered, which was the most important thing at the end.”
“So very, very happy,” he summarised.
Piastri aiming to beat the pack to Turn 1
With teammate Lando Norris, the current championship leader starting from P6, Piastri knows that he will be on own once the lights go green. However, Piastri’s focus is not on the drivers around him, including his own teammate. Instead, his initial aim is to beat the rest of the field to Turn 1 and to capitalise on his hard-earned pole position.
“I’ve got to get to Turn 1 in first, first. So let’s see what happens.”
“But yeah, felt like I’ve been comfortable all weekend. And like you said, there’s no better place to start than on pole.”
“I can’t thank the team enough for the car they’ve given me,” Piastri added, “And yeah, I’m excited for the race tomorrow.”
McLaren’s Piastri proud of “pretty solid performance” in F1 Bahrain GP Qualifying
During the Post-Qualifying Press Conference, Piastri further reflected on his Qualifying session, reinterating that his MCL39 had been in “a very good place” throughout the F1 Bahrain GP weekend. He added that he was particularly pleased with his performance on Saturday, especially since it earned him pole position for Sunday’s race.
“Yeah, very happy. 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. Since then I felt very comfortable all weekend.”
“This morning, given the track conditions, it was a pretty solid performance and 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 to come away with pole is obviously very nice.”
Piastri found “a little bit everywhere” to set top lap time
When asked where he had found that crucial time that had secured pole position, Piastri replied, “A little bit everywhere, I think.”
While he could not recall the specific areas in which he had streamlined his performance, he hypothesised that his tyres could have played a role, though he wondered if its effect was psychological more than technical.
“I honestly can’t remember exactly where, but just little bits around the lap. The first set 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 13, but the rest of the lap was pretty solid.”
“So I’m very happy,” the Australian driver concluded.
“Awkward” Q2 stoppage a “tricky point” for Piastri
Despite his relatively smooth Qualifying session, Piastri admitted that Q2 had been especially tough, due to a combination of factors, and the red flag.
“It was tough,” he said when asked about the effect of decreasing track temperatures and the gusting wind on his Qualifying.
Piastri claimed the session became even more complicated when Haas’ Esteban Ocon crashed into the barriers, triggering an awkwardly timed red flag. Piastri explained that the session had resumed with limited time, requiring that drivers get their first lap right in order to keep their Qualifying hopes alive.
“I think the timing of the red flag was quite awkward because it was right on the limit for being able to do two runs and no one had set a lap at that point. And being at our end of the pit lane, getting out of the pits can take nearly five minutes sometimes, so you have to factor that in.”
“We went pretty risky and just went for the one lap and it was enough obviously. That was a tricky point that you needed to get right, because otherwise your weekend was pretty much in the bin.”
Piastri stated that he was pleased to have made it out of Q2 and relieved that Q3 had been more straightforward.
“I’m glad we managed that. Q3 was a little bit more simple, just the two runs,” he finished, “Yeah, very happy.”
Piastri “had to be on [his] toes” during F1 Bahrain GP Qualifying
Although enthusiastic about qualifying ahead of his rivals, Piastri admitted he faced fierce competition from Mercedes’ George Russell—who initially qualified P2 before being demoted to P3—and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. With only a tenth and a half separating his top time and Russell’s Piastri stated that he had had to be “on [his] toes throughout the F1 Bahrain GP Qualifying.
“After I saw [Russell] doing donuts in FP3, yes. I think the performance we had in FP3 was even a mystery to us and we knew everyone would get a lot closer. It’s been kind of up and down for everybody. One session seems to be Charles that’s challenging us, then George. Max was quick at certain points. It sort of seemed like everyone was peaking at different times.”
“Still had to be on my toes because a tenth and a half was a bit closer than I expected after this morning, definitely.”
Piastri expecing a more exciting race in Sakhir
After a fairly uneventful Japanese GP in Suzuka, Piastri expects a more exciting race around the Sakhir International Circuit with the variety of tyre strategy options that could come into play. While the pole-sitter expects the race to be “a bit of a lottery”, he hopes that there will not be too much excitement.
“Everyone’s got very different tyres up and down the grid. George has only got one hard and one medium. Charles and I have got two mediums. Max has got two hards, so it’s a bit of a mix. We’ll see what everyone goes for tomorrow because I think it’s a bit of a lottery at the moment.”
“I think it will definitely be more exciting from a strategic point of view, but for my sake, I hope not too exciting.”
Piastri not focused on championship battle with Norris
Too much excitement could have implications on the title championship fight ramping up between Piastri and his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris. With 49 points in the 2025 World Drivers’ Championship standings, Piastri sits third, only 13 points behind Norris who leads with 62 points. With Norris starting P6, Piastri, theoretically, could pass his teammate in the standings.
This, however, could be a challenge, as Piastri would have to outscore Norris by at least 14 points. However, with such fierce competition between them, and with the tricky conditions expected during the race, this could become a reality for the McLaren drivers. However, while Piastri intends to do the best job possible, he expects the same from his teammate, and is not focused on taking the Championship lead.
“Let’s see where he finishes first,” Piastri replied, when asked if he planned to seize the opportunity to narrow the gap between himself and Norris in the championship.
“Obviously, it’s nice to be on pole, but like George said, I think this is probably the first race so far where qualifying doesn’t mean everything. I think it’s obviously still important, but I’m expecting him to fight back tomorrow. I’ll just try and make sure that I do the best job that I can, and wherever he ends up is where he ends up.”
Piastri acknowledges strengths of MCL39
Despite Norris starting from the third row, Piastri believes that McLaren is in an excellent position to maximise their gains from the F1 Bahrain GP. He acknowledged the strengths of the MCL39, describing it as “the best car at the moment.” However, he added that their performance, as shown in Japan, was not so dominant that they could afford mistakes.
“I mean, from my side, I’m certainly not shying away from the fact we have the best car at the moment. I think to say otherwise is not correct. But it is difficult and the margins are still pretty tight. It doesn’t take much of a mistake to lose one or two tenths, and that’s been the gap more or less.”
“At times we have looked very, very strong — like this morning, for example — but I think when everyone turns up for qualifying, we know that we still have to put our best foot forward. Like we saw in Japan, we didn’t quite get the most out of the car, got pipped by Max. And today, Lando’s not on the front row, so it’s difficult, definitely.”
Piastri concluded, “I certainly don’t think we’re fast enough to do whatever we want, but we do have a nice advantage at the moment that we’re trying our best to make sure we continue to use week in, week out.”
Piastri felt very comfortable with “relatively straightforward MCL
The McLaren driver was also asked whether he had become more comfortable around the Sakhir Interational Circuit as the weekend had progressed. While Piastri descibed FP1 as “a bit of a write-off”, he stated that, by FP2, he had become comfortable in the car. This comfort had led to McLaren not need to make to many significant changes going into the evening’s Qualifying.
“Yeah, I think so. P1 was a bit of a write-off for everyone, I think. But FP2 already, I felt pretty confident. FP3 this morning was obviously very strong, but in conditions that weren’t particularly representative, so you always — I kind of wish that that was when qualifying was. But I think I’ve been comfortable with the car from FP2. We’ve not had to change too much from then.”
Piastri claimed that his best advantage had been having a car that had allowed him to “put consistent laps on the board” with minimal fuss, and stated that this was a sign of the team’s progress in the development of the MCL39.
“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. I’ve just felt very comfortable this weekend. I think I’ve felt comfortable the whole season so far with the car we’ve got, but this weekend has been another step forward on top of that, which I was able to show today.”
