Oscar Piastri praised McLaren’s hard work ahead of the Imola GP, leading him to have a near perfect start to the 2025 season.
With four wins in the first six races, Piastri has stormed his way to the championship lead, fuelled by the ever fast papaya car underneath him. In Miami, Piastri cross the line 37 seconds ahead of the first non-McLaren car, a show of the step the team have on the rest of the field.
Oscar Piastri told print media in the Thursday press conference before the Imola GP that it was hard not to enjoy the performance he’s displayed so far this season. He said, “When you’ve won four out of six, it’s been a great start. I’ve been enjoying the success we’ve been having on track. But for me what’s been very satisfying is all the work we’ve done behind the scenes to achieve that.”
The Australian noted the difference in the wins this season. With the pace McLaren has in comparison to previous seasons where it’s been a harder fought win.
“It’s quite a different feeling when you win a race because you feel like you’ve just gotten by or had good circumstances. But to now be winning because we have an incredibly quick car and I feel like I’m driving well. That’s very satisfying. Of course, I’ve been enjoying standing on the podium as well. But more so the hard work behind the success.”
McLaren’s edge over the field
There is no denying that McLaren have the competitive lead in the 2025 season. With the MCL39, seeming compatible on every type of track so far this year.
Piastri admitted the 37 seconds gap in Miami was down to how well the car ran in the conditions, but not every weekend was going to feature the same margins. Saying, “With the hotter temperatures, given some of the sessions we’d had earlier in the season, we thought that might play more to our strengths. And I think Sunday in Miami proved that. I’m not expecting that to be the case every weekend.”
Every F1 season leaves some tracks favouring some teams more than others, and while McLaren have maintained a baseline strength across all tracks, Piastri doesn’t expect the 37-second lead every weekend.
He said, “I think it’ll be difficult to repeat that consistently. We’ll see what we can do.”
Imola especially is a very different track to Miami. Beyond the actual layout, the temperature differences are stark.
“We’ve got very soft tyres this weekend, so maybe that will help us. But it’s a lot cooler than it was in Miami. The track is also incredibly different – much bumpier, much higher speeds in general. I expect the competition to be closer than it was in Miami.”
McLaren’s biggest weakness in recent rounds has been qualifying. With Max Verstappen managing to get the best of the papaya cars on multiple occasions.
But the Australian set his focus on qualifying, saying, “We saw in qualifying that the competition was on our heels and ahead of us. So we still have to make sure we go out and execute everything as well as we can, because if we fall through a little bit, then we’ve got plenty of competition that can beat us.”
The championship fight
McLaren are faced with possibly their biggest challenge yet this season. Having two number one drivers fighting for the driver championship. In 2024, the fight between teammates became contentious, with McLaren originally not using team order but quickly implementing ‘papaya rules’ as the season progressed.
Now they find themselves one-two in the championship, with their more experienced driver of Lando Norris in second place. It is unclear on how McLaren will team with the dynamic as the season progresses, but Piastri is focused on himself.
Only six rounds into the season, Piastri is trying to keep the championship out of his mind. Instead, focusing on the performance one round at a time.
He said, “I think there will be a lot of competition, but I feel like I’m driving well at the moment. I feel like the team’s doing a really good job helping me get the most out of myself, get the most out of the car.”
“Clearly the car is very strong. So yeah, I think we have the potential to have a really good year. But I’m not too concerned about that at the moment — just trying to win more races.”
Teammate tension
Despite the competition between the two McLaren drivers, Piastri denied that the dynamics have shifted between the two as they fight for a championship. Instead, both drivers are focused on the team.
Admitting, “I don’t think it changes very much, to be honest. Obviously, you want to have the edge at the end of the season — that’s where it’s most important. For me at the moment, the results have been a good confidence boost for myself, so that’s always important. If we have competition outside McLaren, there are benefits to being first — like with pit stops and strategy.”
“If you’re ahead in anything, there are always advantages. But in terms of the mentality and feeling in the team. We’re still trying as hard as we can to beat all the other teams — and also each other. I think that’s going to remain the same for the rest of the year.”
The 2025 season still has a lot of races to go and as we saw in 2024, team strengths can shift and the championship fight can heat up in a matter of rounds.
