Spanish Grand Prix: Oscar Piastri Predicts Competitive Qualifying Amid Strong McLaren Performance

Add as a preferred source on Google

Oscar Piastri anticipates a competitive qualifying session for the Spanish Grand Prix, even though McLaren led both practice sessions in Barcelona. Piastri topped the timesheets on Friday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, showcasing McLaren's strength despite restrictions on flexi front wings. His teammate, Lando Norris, had set the fastest time in the first session, and Piastri improved the weekend's best time by over a second.

Piastri was 0.286 seconds faster than George Russell of Mercedes. Max Verstappen and Norris followed closely in third and fourth positions, just 0.024 seconds behind. Charles Leclerc finished fifth, half a second off the pace, as Ferrari struggled with car balance. Lewis Hamilton faced more challenges, describing his car as "undriveable" and finishing 11th.

Kimi Antonelli, who replaced Hamilton at Mercedes, secured sixth place. The top ten were rounded out by Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, Alpine's Pierre Gasly, and Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson. Despite these results, Piastri remains cautious about the competition.

Piastri leads the championship by three points over Norris. However, Norris hasn't dismissed Red Bull's Verstappen from being a title contender this season. Piastri echoed this sentiment while acknowledging that McLaren's rivals showed impressive speed on Friday.

"It's been a bit of an up and down day," Piastri admitted. "Ending on an up is good, but our competitors look quick." He noted Verstappen's consistent speed throughout the day and mentioned Ferrari and Mercedes as strong contenders.

Focus on Improvement

When asked if he was worried about how close other teams were, Piastri replied: "Not necessarily." He expected Red Bull to be fast and emphasized their focus on making their car quicker. "We tried a few things today—some worked well; others didn't," he said. "We're learning."

Piastri believes there are still areas to improve before qualifying. He remains optimistic about McLaren's performance but acknowledges that Saturday will be challenging with tight competition expected from other teams.

A positive day on track in Barcelona #McLaren | #M7AReborn | #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/xWqfibOrzW — McLaren (@McLarenF1) May 30, 2025

The anticipation for Saturday’s qualifying is high as teams aim to fine-tune their setups for optimal performance. With several teams showing potential during practice sessions, fans can expect an exciting battle for pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix.