Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri Continues His 'Perfect' Weekend At The Qatar Grand Prix

Qatar might have become the favorite track of the young McLaren Driver after three fourths of Piastri's weekend have been executed perfectly ahead of the Qatar GP tomorrow.
Kaitlin Tucci|
Oscar Piastri McLaren
Oscar Piastri McLaren | IMAGO / Marco Canoniero

It's not surprising that Oscar Piastri loves Qatar. He now has 3 sprint victories and a Grand Prix podium under his belt in just three years of running in Formula 1. On top of that, he can add another fantastic result from today to his Qatar achievement list.

Not only did Oscar score another pole position in the same weekend as his sprint pole, but he has broken his own track record that was set on Friday during sprint qualifying. Making a call back to his comments on Friday, Oscar wanted to find .14 out of the lap, and that he did.

There are only two races remaining against his teammate, Lando Norris, and rival Max Verstappen. As it stands, the F1 2025 Championship will go to Abu Dhabi with Oscar Piastri on pole position ahead of Norris and Verstappen.

Piastri's New Mantra: 'If it Ain't Broke Don't Fix It'

Oscar has mused after each of the sessions that he has topped in Qatar that everything genuinely feels perfect on his car and 'everything is clicking'. Other than minor setup tweaks throughout the different types of sessions, Piastri has seemed to be 'one' with his car.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Jun 14, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; McLaren driver Oscar Piastri (81) discusses with members of his team during FP3 practice at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images | David Kirouac-Imagn Images

According to Piastri, there were question marks about tire performance, but they were positive. The team "did a quick lap on the used set in Q2, and that put a little bit of a spanner in the works because we didn't expect it to be so good". That, of course, is a good problem to have during a Formula 1 Qualifying Session.

It can confidently be said that Piastri has his mojo back, especially with the pace of the McLaren around Lusail. Not as much could be said about his teammate, Norris, who had to bail on his final qualifying lap after a very wide turn.

According to team boss Zak Brown, though, this is the best result that the team could hope for. Their singular goal is to make sure the title fight, if taken to Abu Dhabi, is McLaren only (boxing Max Verstappen out from points contention).

Zak Brown McLaren
Nov 21, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; McLaren Racing chief executive office Zak Brown arrives for the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
"We had a car for the front row. Clearly two drivers capable of that. Oscar has been absolutely perfect all weekend. Lando has been extremely quick. If we can finish where we started here... or if they want to reverse positions... I don't care, that's our goal."
Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren

A McLaren 'Two Horse Race' in Abu Dhabi

Mathematically, if Lando Norris outscores Max Verstappen by 2 points, he will be knocked out of title contention for 2025. Similarly, if Lando Norris outscores Oscar Piastri by a small margin, he will take the title.

That said, Zak Brown is looking at Qatar as 'business as usual', allowing both Piastri and Norris to race each other as hard as they usually would. Adding the infamous statement, "they know the rules".

McLaren F1 Car
Nov 21, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; McLaren driver Lando Norris (4) during the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

According to both Piastri and Brown, what they're most concerned about is the FIA's mandatory 2-stop race tomorrow. Piastri added that this track is incredibly physically demanding for every F1 driver up and down the grid, which we know from past years.

"The two stops and lap limits means we'll probably going to be pushing pretty hard the whole time. It won't be as hot as it was a couple of years ago, but I'm expecting it to be a pretty tough race. There is an insane amount of G-Force around here multiple times a lap, so it's hard work but incredible fun."
Oscar Piastri, McLaren, P1

All in all, Piastri is having one of his best weekends in Formula 1 that he has had in his 3 years in the sport with McLaren. Can that momentum be maintained and score him a Grand Prix victory tomorrow?

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Kaitlin Tucci
KAITLIN TUCCI

Kaitlin Tucci has been a fan of motorsport for close to a decade. Before joining On SI in 2025, she contributed heavily to the marketing and media efforts at FanAmp, a motorsports startup for which she was the Head of Marketing. She has contributed to a number of publications covering series such as Formula 1, IndyCar, IMSA, and more... Kaitlin graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with both a degree in Business/Marketing and Political Science. She works full time as a marketer at high-growth tech startups while spending her weekends immersed in the world of racing. Kaitlin was raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, but has lived in New York City for the past 5 years with her 'giant chihuahua' Willow. You'll often catch Willow watching races alongside Kaitlin, but unfortunately she doesn't have enough airline miles to join her at the track just yet.

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