After a stellar sophomore Formula 1 campaign that saw McLaren clinch its first Constructors’ Championship since 1998, Oscar Piastri is already looking ahead to 2025, with a clear focus on sharpening one key area of his skillset: his qualifying performance.
The young Australian, who delivered to his team two race victories – in Hungary and in Azerbaijan – and eight podium finishes this season, believes fine-tuning his one-lap pace will be crucial if he’s to contend for the Drivers’ Championship in what promises to be an intensely competitive year.
While Piastri believes he made a step forward this season in terms of his personal development, qualifying remained an imperfect exercise on Saturday afternoons relative to his McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
The Briton dominated the intra-team head-to-head battle 20-4 and converted his superior pace into eight pole positions, a figure matched only by Max Verstappen.
In contrast, Piastri’s lower starting positions on the grid often made his race days more challenging, a fact he readily acknowledges.
“I think this season, I feel like I’ve made some good steps forward,” said in Abu Dhabi recently. “There’s still room to go.
“I think, you know, the biggest one has been leaving a few too many positions on the table in qualifying.
“I don’t think I’ve ever really made life easy for myself in the races, in that aspect. So, I think that’s definitely the big focus of the off-season, just trying to get those last hundredths, last tenths.
“Because I feel like in all the other areas, I’ve been able to show what I’m capable of. And also show that I’ve improved from my rookie season.
“So, again, I feel like it’s now just putting everything together. Because I feel like the gaps now are very, very small or non-existent.
“It’s just that if I can get it all together, then I’ll be on my way, I think.”
©McLaren
Interestingly, Piastri’s situation mirrors Norris’ position just a year ago. The Briton spent the 2023 offseason working on his qualifying performances, a focus that paid dividends and helped him stay in contention for the Drivers’ Championship deep into the season.
Piastri will hope to follow a similar trajectory as he refines his approach to qualifying during the winter.
“The big thing for me is that there’s not been many occasions where it’s been hard for me to understand where the time’s gone,” he explained.
“After qualifying yesterday, I pretty much knew immediately where it had gone wrong.
“And, again, it’s not a case of really needing to find that extra step. It’s being able to just be on top of my game every time.
For Piastri, the goal is clear for 2025: improve qualifying execution, match Norris more consistently, and avoid situations where team orders could come into play.
With the Australian’s relentless drive for improvement and McLaren’s newfound dominance, Piastri’s pursuit of a championship challenge in 2025 promises to be one of the key storylines of the season.
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