Oscar Piastri Reveals Crucial Factor That Could Help Him Secure Abu Dhabi Pole

The young Aussie is in with an outside shot at securing the 2025 Drivers' Championship - and placing himself on pole is essential to strengthen his chance at a title.

McLaren Racing

At the midpoint of the 2025 season, Oscar Piastri was nine points ahead of teammate Lando Norris in the race for the 2025 Drivers' Championship.

A win at Zandvoort, which also saw teammate Norris retire, propelled the gap to 34 points, giving the 24-year-old strong positioning to run away with the title.

But two podiums in the next eight races, compounded with both McLarens being disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, allowed Norris to establish a 16-point lead over Piastri, while also demoting him to third thanks to the late-season surge of Max Verstappen.

If Piastri is to give himself the best chance at any possibility of a title, it is paramount that he starts from pole at Abu Dhabi to get the best opportunity at taking a win.

Oscar Piastri has scored six pole positions so far this season. | McLaren Racing

Piastri says Friday outings 'not too bad', but further improvements needed

With Pato O'Ward stepping in for Piastri to take part in Practice Session 1, which Lando Norris edged out Max Verstappen to take first in, it meant that the Aussie had limited time to get a feel for the track before qualifying.

Piastri only had limited runtime in the second practice session, with a mistake on his strongest lap of the session, meaning he could only place 11th out of 20.

Pato O'Ward replaced Piastri in the first practice session at Yas Marina Circuit - the Mexican star is a well-established name in the world of IndyCar. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Speaking to F1 TV, the third-year driver disclosed what needs to happen if he is to maximize what he can out of the car this weekend, and what could help him line up first on the grid.

"The car [has] looked quick – [I] just need to get some more laps under my belt and find my feet a bit more really, that’s all. A few more laps tomorrow, a few more sets of tyres, hopefully we’ll be there [at the top].

Piastri on needing more time to practice

When asked if any changes to the car needed to be made, Piastri reasoned that it was simply minor tweaks that had to happen rather than anything big.

"Clearly some things to try and improve for tomorrow... I think it’s more just little details [that need changing]... The car feels like it’s in a pretty decent place... just didn’t get the grip out of it on that first soft lap... didn’t feel perfect out there, but nothing major.”

Piastri on changes to his McLaren

Another huge piece of news around Piastri, and McLaren as a whole, was the statement from Zak Brown confirming team orders would be enforced if it strengthened either Norris or Piastri's shot at winning the championship as opposed to Verstappen's Red Bull.

Papaya rules allowed both McLaren drivers to battle throughout the season, but the gloves are now off as the final Grand Prix takes place. You can read three key storylines of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix here.

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