Oscar Piastri clinched pole position at the Spanish GP, outpacing Lando Norris in Barcelona as McLaren F1’s form continues upward.
Piastri secured a solid pole position in Barcelona, finishing two-tenths ahead of his teammate. The McLaren F1 driver had feared a difficult weekend yesterday but made progress that will allow him to start from the front of the grid in tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix.
“I’m very happy, it’s been a good weekend so far. It didn’t start perfectly, but we found pace yesterday and the car was incredible today—I was able to put in some very fast laps. Thanks to the team for their great work, it was miserable here last year and such a turnaround is amazing,” Piastri said.
Piastri Eyes Strong Start
“I made a lot of progress in Turn 1, and there are a few places on the lap where I struggled all day. I don’t know if I really improved there, but the first half of the lap went better and I held on in the second half. It wasn’t the perfect lap, but the tyres degrade very quickly over one lap and it’s hard to get it all together.”
The start will obviously be crucial on a circuit where the first corner is a long way off: “It’s going to be an interesting race tomorrow, I’m happy to start from pole but the straight to Turn 1 is long, so we’ll try to get a good launch. But I’m proud of the work we’ve done today and I thank the team.”
Norris Hails Rapid Piastri
Lando Norris admitted he didn’t have what it took to beat his teammate today. He acknowledged an imperfect lap but said that wouldn’t have changed the outcome of qualifying, as Piastri was simply too fast.
“Oscar was very good, the pace was there, I made a few small mistakes, and Oscar drove very well all weekend. It’s a very good result and it’ll be interesting,” Norris said. “It won’t be an easy race, it’s a long run to Turn 1 and we have several fast cars behind us. But I’m happy.”
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