The 2024 season has been a very important year for Oscar Piastri. Entering his 2nd year in F1, Piastri was able to win 2 Grand Prix races so far in Hungary and Azerbaijan, and could potentially win more in the final 3 races. There is no doubt that he is now among the top drivers in F1. But there have been some doubts regarding his qualifying pace.
While Piastri has been able to improve a lot on his race pace, he’s usually not very strong during qualifying. He is unable to beat his teammate, Lando Norris, but is able to match his race pace. This has left fans wondering if Piastri has sacrificed his qualifying setup to improve his setup for the race. The Australian driver has now responded to these speculations.
Oscar Piastri’s focus now on qualifying pace
Recently, Oscar spoke to the media where he addressed concerns on his qualifying pace.
“In the race, it’s definitely been a really good improvement from last year, that’s been good,” Piastri told media.
“But the improvements in that have not really come at a sacrifice for qualifying approach. There’s just been a few tricky sessions – but even going back to earlier in the year, my qualifying was very strong for a nice period.”
OSCAR PIASTRI CONQUERS THE STREETS OF BAKU AND SECURES HIS SECOND EVER RACE WIN! 🏆
An unforgettable drive sees him claim the top spot at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix!
Leclerc finishes in second with Russell in third place. #F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/sBSChO9u3X
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 15, 2024
During his 2-year tenure in F1, Piastri has not managed to bag a pole position yet. However, he has managed to win 2 Grand Prix races and 1 Sprint Race. There is no doubt that Piastri is quick. However, he has admitted that he needs to now focus on improving his qualifying pace.
“It’s (qualifying pace) definitely the focus at the moment because it would just make my weekends much easier, starting a bit higher up. But it’s not like I’ve gained in the race and sacrificed qualifying. In theory, I should be able to be good in both.”
Heading into the Las Vegas GP this weekend, McLaren is leading the Championship by 34 points to Ferrari. But all it takes is one positive weekend from the Prancing Horses to take the lead in the Championship standings. Both these teams have 2 strong drivers in their lineup. So this battle could go on until the last race at Abu Dhabi.
Can Oscar Piastri fight for the Championship next year?
Given the pace at which McLaren has developed the team, it is very likely that both their drivers will emerge as Championship contenders in 2025. This year, both the drivers have won 2 Grand Prix races each.
McLaren enhanced their lead to Ferrari in Brazil while Red Bull clawed back some points.
This constructor battle can still go one of three ways!
Three races left, May the best team win!#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/wjfDGqRnrX
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) November 5, 2024
During the European leg of the season, Piastri outscored every driver on the grid with his consistent performances. Given how much the Australian driver has improved after his rookie year, we can definitely expect a lot more to come from him.
Piastri won the Formula 3 and Formula 2 Championships in his rookie year. Any driver who is able to accomplish this has done well in F1. Hence, we can all expect Piastri to be fighting at the top next year if McLaren develops a strong car.
