Oscar Piastri warns Max Verstappen could be a threat at the 2025 Canadian GP as the Formula 1 championship leader also tips Mercedes and Ferrari to be in the mix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
The Australian comes into the weekend having won last time out in Spain to boost his lead at the top of the drivers’ standings to 10 points ahead of his teammate, Lando Norris, whilst McLaren have assumed a commanding 197-point buffer in the constructors’.
Through the nine races to open the year, they have been beaten just twice, Japan and Imola, by Red Bull’s Verstappen on both occasions; as the four-time world champion continues to be a thorn in their sides.
The Dutchman also proved to be an irritation in Australia, Saudi Arabia and Spain by almost taking three more victories away from the papaya-coloured cars, whilst Mercedes looked handy in Bahrain and China whilst Ferrari excelled in Monte Carlo.
So, it’s no surprise that Piastri warns the pack isn’t far away, although he focuses on Verstappen by tipping him to be the main threat of the 2025 Canadian GP to the McLaren outfit.
“I expect it to be how it’s looked for most of the year,” Piastri told media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “I think Max will probably be competitive again. “This was a very competitive race for Mercedes last year, and I expect them to be quick again here.
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“But you never quite know whether that’s going to be matching us, challenging us in qualifying especially, or attempting to come from the back or, hopefully not, attempting to be ahead.
“You just never quite know exactly where the challenge is going to come from at the moment. Obviously, Max has probably been the most consistent across the year, but Mercedes have looked strong at certain points.
“Monaco was a strong race for Ferrari, and there are some similarities to here, but we said that 12 months ago and it wasn’t a great race [for them]. I don’t know where the time will come from, but I think there will be plenty.”
Piastri confident at Canadian GP despite Verstappen threat
The news Norris might not want to hear ahead of the weekend in Montreal is that his teammate isn’t feeling as though he will have an uphill battle in his quest for his sixth triumph of the campaign.
Piastri feels as though he goes well in Canada and expects to continue the momentum of his win in Barcelona through to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean as F1 pitches up in North America for the second time in 2025.
“I think this weekend should be a good one for me,” Piastri added. “I think I’ve worked on a lot of things from last year. This race was honestly probably a good one already last year.
“But, somewhat ironically, the races that were pretty bad for me last year have probably been the best this year, and some of the ones that were good last year haven’t been great.
“We’ll see how we go, but I’m expecting it to be a good weekend. It’s a track I enjoy. It’s very, very difficult to drive around here and not make mistakes.
“But I’ve been very comfortable in the car the whole year, and I feel like I’m in a good place at the moment.”
