Oscar Piastri

2025 Bahrain Grand Prix/2025 F1 season/George Russell/Lando Norris/Max Verstappen/Oscar Piastri/Qualifying reports

Piastri beats Russell to pole, Norris sixth ahead of Verstappen · RaceFans

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Oscar Piastri put McLaren on pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix but team mate Lando Norris could only manage sixth on the grid.

The Mercedes drivers claimed second and fourth on the grid but both are under investigation for potential infringements in Q2.

Q1

The first round of qualifying gave Red Bull a fright as both its drivers were in the bottom five after their first runs. Verstappen ran wide at the final corner on his first lap and headed for the pits. Tsunoda completed his first lap, setting a time of 1’32.096, but was dismayed to see it was immediately deleted as he strayed beyond the track limits at turn three.

That piled pressure on both drivers to deliver with their final laps. Verstappen had a wobble at the beginning of his, catching a snap of oversteer at turn two, but calmed things down from there on to set the third-quickest time. Tsunoda, who had seldom been out of the bottom five in practice, pulled out a lap when it mattered, four tenths of a second slower than his team mate but quick enough to secure a place in Q2.

Among those left behind in the first round was the driver Tsunoda replaced a week ago, Liam Lawson, now at Racing Bulls. But the most surprising elimination in the first round was Alexander Albon, a consistent points-scorer over the opening grands prix, who dropped out in 16th.

Nico Hulkenberg scraped into Q2 but left behind team mate Gabriel Bortoleto, who lost too much time in the first sector on his final run. Lance Stroll will share the back row of the grid with Oliver Bearman, who was unable to replicate the promising pace he showed in practice yesterday.

The stewards later decided Hulkenberg had exceeded track limits on the lap which originally put him in Q2. The decision came through too late for Albon to take his rightful place in the second session, though he inherited 15th place from Hulkenberg.

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Q1 result

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Q2

The second part of qualifying had only been running for a few minutes when it was brought to a stop. Esteban Ocon lost control of his Haas on the kerb on the outside of turn two, which sent him spinning into the barrier on the opposite side of the track. “I’m okay,” he reported before climbing out, though his damaged VF-25 was anything but.

The session resumed with 11 minutes left on the clock. Mercedes were slightly too eager to get their cars onto the track, prompting race control to take a look into whether Russell and Antonelli left their garages too early. Hulkenberg observed the team’s actions, calling it “dodgy.” The incident will be investigated after qualifying.

Verstappen was among those who joined the track as early as possible, but surprisingly backed out of his first run, despite being on course to set a competitive time. Once again, he and Tsunoda went into the final minutes needing to pull a lap out to progress, and once again they did, though it was very close. Q2 ended with the Red Bull pair at the bottom of the top 10, Tsunoda avoiding elimination by just 0.017 seconds.

Jack Doohan came close to denying the Red Bull driver his first Q3 appearance for the team. He fell six tenths of a second shy of his team mate’s time as Pierre Gasly impressed by ending the session third behind the McLarens. Hadjar couldn’t get his Racing Bulls into the final 10, and Hulkenberg also went out along with Ocon.

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Q2 result

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Q3

From the beginning of Q3, Russell showed he had the pace to threaten the McLaren drivers. His first effort lifted him over a second ahead of his team mate, who had a scruffy first lap.

Piastri claimed the top spot back from Russell but Norris couldn’t beat the Mercedes, setting the third-quickest time. Verstappen was slower than Tsunoda with his first run of Q3. “My brakes are just terrible,” he told race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. “I can’t brake at all. So bad.”

Antonelli tidied up his final run and temporarily hit the top of the times, but Russell pulled out another two-tenths of a second on his team mate. His benchmark time now stood at a 1’30.009, and the McLaren pair behind him knew they likely needed a sub-90 second lap to beat it.

Only Piastri managed to pull it off. A 1’29.841 secured his pole position, while Norris could only manage sixth. A superb effort by Gasly put the Alpine driver fifth on the grid, with the two championship leaders immediately behind him.

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Q3 result

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2025 Bahrain Grand Prix

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2025 Bahrain Grand Prix/2025 F1 season/Oscar Piastri/Practice reports

Piastri leads McLaren one-two as Alonso’s steering wheel comes off in practice · RaceFans

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Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Bahrain International Circuit, 2025


Oscar Piastri led a comfortable one-two for McLaren in the second practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

George Russell, who got closest to the two McLaren drivers, lapped over half a second slower than the Chinese Grand Prix winner. Only the McLaren drivers lapped the Bahrain International Circuit in less than 91 seconds.

However a question mark remained over Red Bull’s form at the end of the session. Not for the first time this year, Max Verstappen’s best time in practice left him behind one of the Racing Bulls, in this case Isack Hadjar.

Charles Leclerc gave Ferrari some encouragement, setting a best time just a hundredth of a second slower than Russell in fourth place. Lewis Hamilton could only manage eighth.

Oliver Bearman put in a strong lap for Haas to set the ninth-fastest time, but admitted he was puzzled by his car’s balance through the final corner. Carlos Sainz Jnr put his Williams 10th, just ahead of team mate Alexander Albon.

The best-placed Aston Martin driver was only 15th, but Fernando Alonso had concerns besides his car’s pace. He reported a problem with his steering wheel losing power early in the session. He then appeared to remove the wheel and replace it in an attempt to reset it. The team replaced parts of the steering system afterwards in a bit to cure the problem.

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2025 Bahrain Grand Prix Grand Prix second practice result

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2025 F1 season/2025 Japanese Grand Prix/Formula 1/Max Verstappen/Oscar Piastri

Verstappen was joking with claim he’d dominate at McLaren · RaceFans

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Oscar Piastri does not believe Max Verstappen was serious with his claim he would have dominated the Japanese Grand Prix in McLaren’s car.

The Red Bull driver led McLaren’s Lando Norris and Piastri home by 2.1 seconds at Suzuka. Afterwards he told Dutch media he would have left them well behind had he also been in a McLaren.

Asked whether he thought Verstappen intends his comments as a joke, Piastri said: “Yes, but I think if Max had qualified third and we were first and second, it probably would have looked quite different as well. So I think it was lighthearted.”

Verstappen beat Norris and Piastri to pole position by less than five hundredths of a second, then kept them behind throughout Sunday’s race to claim his first victory of 2025.

“Qualifying made a very big difference,” said Piastri. “I don’t think it’s normal to have two cars sitting two seconds behind the leader for 50 laps.

“So I think it was kind of clear to see that our car was quicker but I think the gaps would have been quite different if we had been the other way around from the start as well.”

However Piastri said he doesn’t have any desire to drive Verstappen’s Red Bull. “Clearly the car looks pretty difficult,” he said.

“I think we’ve seen that with Liam [Lawson], we saw with Checo [Perez] last year, even with Yuki [Tsunoda] in Japan.

“So again, I think going into an environment where that has been so focused on the way Max drives for nearly 10 years now, I think it would be a very tough environment to go into and have immediate success. I’m quite happy that I’m driving a McLaren and not a Red Bull at the moment.”

This article will be updated

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2025 F1 season/2025 Japanese Grand Prix/Formula 1/Max Verstappen/Oscar Piastri

Verstappen was joking with claim he’d dominate at McLaren · RaceFans

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Oscar Piastri does not believe Max Verstappen was serious with his claim he would have dominated the Japanese Grand Prix in McLaren’s car.

But the Red Bull driver insisted he was not joking with his comments, made to Dutch media, after his Japanese Grand Prix victory.

Verstappen led McLaren’s Lando Norris and Piastri home by 2.1 seconds at Suzuka. Afterwards he said he would have left both well behind had he also been in a McLaren.

Asked whether he thought Verstappen intends his comments as a joke, Piastri said: “Yes, but I think if Max had qualified third and we were first and second, it probably would have looked quite different as well. So I think it was light-hearted.”

Verstappen beat Norris and Piastri to pole position by less than five hundredths of a second, then kept them behind throughout Sunday’s race to claim his first victory of 2025.

“Qualifying made a very big difference,” said Piastri. “I don’t think it’s normal to have two cars sitting two seconds behind the leader for 50 laps.

“So I think it was kind of clear to see that our car was quicker but I think the gaps would have been quite different if we had been the other way around from the start as well.”

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But the Red Bull driver stood by his remarks today. “I was not joking,” he said. “You thought it was a joke? No, it’s not a joke.

“We know how hard and how narrow our window is with the car. Then you get that question, what would you do in another car? Well, I give you an honest answer.

“But I also said in that same interview that that is not going to happen anyway so there is no need to speculate about it.”

Piastri acknowledged the difficulty Red Bull’s drivers have had with their car and said he doesn’t have any desire to drive an RB21. “Clearly the car looks pretty difficult,” he said.

“I think we’ve seen that with Liam [Lawson], we saw with Checo [Perez] last year, even with Yuki [Tsunoda] in Japan.

“So again, I think going into an environment where that has been so focused on the way Max drives for nearly 10 years now, I think it would be a very tough environment to go into and have immediate success. I’m quite happy that I’m driving a McLaren and not a Red Bull at the moment.”

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2025 F1 season/2025 Japanese Grand Prix/alexander albon/Andrea Kimi Antonelli/carlos sainz jnr/charles leclerc/Driver of the Weekend/Esteban Ocon/Fernando Alonso/Gabriel Bortoleto/George Russell/Isack Hadjar/Jack Doohan/Lance Stroll/Lando Norris/Lewis Hamilton/Liam Lawson/Max Verstappen/Nico Hulkenberg/Oliver Bearman/Oscar Piastri/Pierre Gasly/Yuki Tsunoda

Vote for your 2025 Japanese Grand Prix F1 Driver of the Weekend

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Start, Suzuka, 2025


Which Formula 1 driver made the most of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend?

It’s time to give your verdict on which driver did the best with the equipment at their disposal over the last three days.

Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most at Suzuka.

Driver performance summary

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Vote for your driver of the weekend

Which driver do you think did the best job throughout the race weekend?

Who got the most out of their car in qualifying and the race? Who put their team mate in the shade?

Cast your vote below and explain why you chose the driver you picked in the comments.

Who was the best driver of the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix weekend?

  • No opinion (0%)
  • Gabriel Bortoleto (0%)
  • Nico Hulkenberg (0%)
  • Carlos Sainz Jnr (0%)
  • Alexander Albon (0%)
  • Yuki Tsunoda (6%)
  • Isack Hadjar (11%)
  • Oliver Bearman (0%)
  • Esteban Ocon (0%)
  • Pierre Gasly (0%)
  • Jack Doohan (0%)
  • Fernando Alonso (0%)
  • Lance Stroll (0%)
  • George Russell (0%)
  • Andrea Kimi Antonelli (17%)
  • Liam Lawson (0%)
  • Max Verstappen (67%)
  • Lewis Hamilton (0%)
  • Charles Leclerc (0%)
  • Oscar Piastri (0%)
  • Lando Norris (0%)

Total Voters: 18

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2025 Chinese Grand Prix/2025 F1 season/Formula 1/Lando Norris/Oscar Piastri

Even the best driver on the grid needs a team mate to push them

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Lando Norris said McLaren’s strong driver pairing is a vital advantage for them, after they won the two opening rounds of the new season.

He made the remarks after McLaren scored more than double the points of Red Bull over the Australian and Chinese grands prix. All of Red Bull’s 36 points were scored by Max Verstappen, who is Norris’s closest rival at the top of the drivers’ championship.

The poor performance of Verstappen’s new team mate Liam Lawson has raised speculation Red Bull may cut him loose just two races after he was hired to replace the under-performing Sergio Perez. Norris says McLaren’s more competitive pairing gives them an edge over the competition.

“Apart from Ferrari, I don’t think there’s another team that has two drivers that push each other anywhere near as much,” he said in the FIA press conference after Sunday’s race. “And for us, that’s a huge advantage.

“Even if you have the same car for everyone, if you have a team with two drivers who can push each other, they’re always going to beat everyone else that’s just on their own.

“We have a great car, we have a great team, but we also have two drivers that are pushing each other more than any other team has. And that will always triumph — even [over] the best driver on the grid.”

Norris said the co-operation between him and team mate Oscar Piastri is “one of our biggest strengths at the minute.”

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“We have different ways we drive. He wants some things on the car, I want different things. But normally our ways align and we always want the same thing in the end.”

Last weekend in Shanghai the teams had to adapt quickly to the changes in grip levels caused by the recently resurfaced track. “Oscar’s ability to adapt to a track like this was impressive, and something I clearly struggled a lot more to do,” Norris conceded.

“I hate understeer. The one thing I almost hate as much as brakes not working is probably understeer, and that’s what we had this weekend. As soon as we put the hard [tyres] on, for instance, my pace was a lot stronger because I had some front, finally.

“But I’ve learned a lot this weekend from Oscar and his ability to adapt to these different situations. It’s definitely something we’ll maximise because it’s helping us beat every other team at the minute.”

The pair pushed each other hard in both races. At Melbourne, when Norris was leading, the team temporarily instructed Piastri not to attack him when they caught a cluster of backmarkers on the damp, drying track. Norris said the team is ready to handle competitive situations between the drivers when necessary.

“We were free to race today, I didn’t have the pace to really get up to Oscar, and he drove very well. So he deserved it.

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“Same really last weekend, there were those two laps that I know everyone loves to talk about where we just held position, but the rest of it, we were free to race. So I’m sure we’re going to have some closer racing at some point. I think we’re both excited – probably nervous and excited at the same time – as I’m sure the team will be. But we’re ready.”

He believes the competition between McLaren’s drivers will serve them well if they find themselves under more pressure from rival teams in later races.

“We know that as much as we work together and we have a good time and enjoy ourselves, we both know we want to try and beat each other and show who’s best,” he explained. “And that’s inevitable. So there’s no point trying to hide away from that fact or make something of it.

“We’re two competitors who both want to win. But we help each other out. I think we both achieved something better this weekend because of that fact. And we’ll continue to do that.

“So I’m sure at the minute it’s going to be like that, but like Oscar said, at any point other teams can find something. Other teams have talked about upgrades and stuff already and they can catch up quicker than you think, just like we did last year. So as much as we’re doing that, we also have to think as a team and keep pushing the team forward from that side.”

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