Formula 1’s championship leader Oscar Piastri is gearing up for a thrilling Sunday at Silverstone, declaring that the front-running teams are “evenly matched” and setting the stage for what could be one of the most hotly contested races of the season.
The McLaren driver narrowly missed out on pole position for the British Grand Prix on Saturday, losing out by just 0.103s to Red Bull rival Max Verstappen, who put together a blistering final lap to secure top spot on the grid.
Piastri will start alongside the Dutchman on the front row, with Lando Norris and George Russell right behind in a second-row lockout of home favourites.
“It’s going to be a fun race”
After a tense and unpredictable qualifying session that saw the top six separated by just 0.229s, Piastri is expecting a similarly close fight once the lights go out on Sunday.
“It’s going to be a fun race,” said the Australian. “It has been very evenly matched between us, Max, the Ferraris – I saw even George get up there at the end.
“I think it’s going to be a pretty evenly paced race tomorrow. All of us have got slightly different strengths. The Red Bull is very quick in a straightline.
“We’ve been just a bit quicker in the high speed. So it’s going to be a fun one.”
McLaren had looked like the team to beat through practice, but Verstappen and Red Bull bounced back in qualifying after making overnight changes to favour the RB21’s straight-line speed – an adjustment that proved crucial on Silverstone’s long straights.
“First lap was mega”
Piastri had briefly held provisional pole after becoming the first driver of the weekend to dip below the 1m25s barrier, setting a 1m24.995s on his opening Q3 run. However, his second attempt fell short after a few small errors crept in.
“I was happy with the first lap,” Piastri said. “The first lap was mega, to be honest. I was trying to think how I was going to go faster and I didn’t.
“The last lap was a little bit messy, but it’s been tight all weekend. I think the first lap was very good. I don’t know how much the track would have improved. A little bit on the table — we’ll never know if it was enough.”
Piastri admitted he may have been a little too cautious in key corners on his final attempt, especially when trying to build on what he felt was already a strong banker.
“It’s tough [to improve on the second run], especially when you think it’s a good lap. You don’t want to overdo it and go over the limit.
“I think there were a couple of corners where maybe I was a bit safe on the way in and tried to make up for it on the way out, and it didn’t quite work. So yeah, there’s always little fine margins as we know — but ultimately, I’m pretty happy with second on the grid.”
McLaren in the Fight
Despite missing pole, Piastri and McLaren are confident they’ll be in the mix on Sunday, especially with Norris starting just behind in third. The team has been working hard throughout the weekend, making constant changes in search of extra pace.
“The team has done a great job of trying a lot of things this weekend, trying to get a bit more pace,” added the seven-time Grand Prix winner.
“The car has felt mega all weekend, but there have been a few points where we’re scratching our heads about why we’re not quicker.”
Read also: Button names ‘worst teammate to have’ in F1 – and it’s not MaxWith different strengths across the top teams – Red Bull’s straight-line power versus McLaren’s high-speed cornering – Piastri believes the stage is set for a race of strategy, risk, and razor-thin margins.
As the championship leader heads into another high-pressure Sunday, he’s braced for battle — and ready for some fun.
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