Oscar Piastri makes a bold statement by calling the front of the Formula 1 field to be tight at the Miami Internationale Autodrome, a prediction that could disappoint McLaren ahead of the F1 2025 Miami GP.
One race after the Australian assumed the lead of the championship, he could lose it again after only being good enough for fourth on the grid on May 3, lining up behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, teammate Lando Norris and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.
Tight margins in qualifying caught the 23-year-old out over one lap, and although McLaren have trended towards more dominant pace on Sundays, the man from Melbourne doesn’t necessarily expect that in Florida.
As a result, Piastri makes a bold prediction in the Sunshine State by tipping Verstappen and Antonelli to be harder to pass than others may expect, news that could disappoint McLaren at the F1 2025 Miami GP.
“It’s going to be tight at the front,” Piastri told Sky Sports F1. “We saw how close qualifying was and it’s going to be tough to make progress.
“I think you can, and the weather is not that straightforward, so I think we can make progress but it will be difficult.
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“I will still try to get as many points as I can. It’s far too early to start thinking about the championship, so I will try to make up as many places as I can but just to get a good result tomorrow over anything else.”
Piastri explains how qualifying got away in Miami GP
Qualifying pace has been Piastri’s biggest strength throughout the early stages of this Formula 1 season after he bagged pole in China and Bahrain and has seldom been substantially off the pace.
However, the first crack in this armour appeared in the United States as a rough final run in Q3 ultimately saw him land up 0.171 away from pole, his largest gap to the front of the season. What went wrong?
“I fell out of the rhythm a little bit,” Piastri added. “My best lap of qualifying was the first lap of Q2. I peaked a bit early.
“I couldn’t get into the rhythm in Q3. The car was great and deserved more but both laps in Q3 were quite scruffy. That’s the price you pay.”
