Oscar Piastri confesses he didn’t have any more pace to beat Max Verstappen in their qualifying battle at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP; a concerning revelation for the season ambitions of McLaren.
McLaren have been the team to beat through the opening four rounds of the Formula 1 season, taking three wins and leading the constructors’ championship by 58 points, whilst holding a 1-2 standing in the drivers’.
The impression is that they have the best car on the grid, one that hasn’t quite had its full potential released yet, although this is continuously played down by Zak Brown’s team as they warn the chasing pack isn’t far away.
And on the evidence of qualifying at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, the could be right as Piastri makes a concerning revelation that he had no more pace to give at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP, suggesting Red Bull could be closer than they think.
“At the time, I felt like it was a good lap, yes,” Piastri told members of the media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “I made a bit of a mistake on the first lap and managed to get through that corner much better on the second attempt.
“And, you know, when you need one hundredth, you can think of a few places. But, no, honestly, it was a good lap that I was happy with. Max did a very good job today, and that was pretty much all we had.”
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Piastri not fazed by red flag in F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP qualifying
Qualifying at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP faced a surprising and sudden halt when Lando Norris found the wall at the exit of Turn 5, crashing with just eight minutes left and causing a red flag.
Drivers typically get two runs in Q3, but the incident ensured they lost their first one and found themselves with insufficient time to push, come into the garage to cool off, then go again for a final run.
That was with the exceptions of Verstappen; who opted for two consecutive runs thanks to a clever call from Red Bull, and Piastri, who already had a time on the board. As a result, the Australian wasn’t particularly bothered by the interruption.
“It was alright for me. I was the only one with a lap on the board,” Piastri said of the timing of the red flag. “I knew that lap probably wasn’t going to be enough anyway. So I knew that I would have to go back out and improve.
“But it’s a little bit nicer when you have a lap already on the board. But again, when you know you have to go out there and do a better job, then it kind of renders that one somewhat useless.
“I also saw that Max was a thousandth faster before I went back out, so I knew that I had to improve to get back on pole. It was a good lap. No regrets, really.”
