Oscar Piastri continued to showcase McLaren’s dominance in Qualifying for the F1 Bahrain GP, taking pole position for the second time in his career.
Piastri has been unstoppable all weekend so far, already showing great pace in practice. He was 0.6s clear of the field in FP3.
The Australian dominated the third practice session ahead of Qualifying with six-tenths separating him from McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
The margins in Qualifying were tighter, but Piastri prevailed, putting it on provisional pole on his first run in Q3.
The McLaren driver improved on his second run, clocking in a 1:29.841, making him the only driver to go below 1:30.
With pole position in the bag, Piastri will head into his 50th Grand Prix from the prime position on the grid.
Piastri on his Qualifying run
In the top 3 press conference following Qualifying for the F1 Bahrain GP, the McLaren driver was “very happy” with Piastri noting that apart from FP1 when nobody had any grip in the heat, he felt “very comfortable” this weekend.
“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 already held provisional pole after his first run in Q3, but in his second run the McLaren driver improved by almost four-tenths.
The Australian reckons that he marginally improved “everywhere” on his way to pole.
“A little bit everywhere I think.
“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.”
Disrupted Q2 outing
During Q2 the session was red-flagged after Esteban Ocon crashed his Haas into the barriers.
The red flag came at an inopportune time, disrupting Piastri’s run plan for the session, noting that with McLaren’s position in the pits, it can take quite some time before they are able to head out again.
In the end, Piastri set the fastest time at the end of Q2, setting the stage for his stunning and uninterrupted run for pole in Q3.
“It was tough.
“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.
“I’m glad we managed that.
“Q3 was a little bit more simple, just the two runs.
“Yeah, very happy.”
McLaren’s challengers keep changing
McLaren has been quick all weekend, with Piastri commanding the third practice session earlier today.
In Qualifying, George Russell, who claimed P2 on track, shortened the gap to under two-tenths.
Piastri had anticipated the pace to be much closer in Qualifying, though it was unclear who would emerge as the main challenger out of McLaren’s direct competitors, as performance levels vary from session to session.
He was surprised to see George Russell so close following a spin for the Mercedes driver out of turn 10 in FP3.
“After I saw him 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 [Leclerc] that’s challenging us, then George [Russell].
“Max [Verstappen] 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.”
Expectations for the F1 Bahrain GP
Looking ahead to the race, Piastri believes that there might be some strategic variations due to differing availabilities of tyre compounds across the teams.
The potential for alternating strategies could make for an interesting Bahrain GP, though Piastri hopes that for his sake it’s “not too exciting.”
“Yes, probably.
“Everyone’s got very different tyres up and down the grid.
“George [Russell] has only got one hard and one medium. Charles [Leclerc] and I have got two mediums.
“Max [Verstappen] 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.”
