Oscar Piastri Hints He Overcame Disadvantage to Take Emilia Romagna GP Pole

Oscar Piastri pointed out a major downside during his stellar pole lap at the Emilia Romagna GP.

Oscar Piastri (via Alamy)

The European leg of the Formula 1 calendar kicks off this weekend with the Emilia Romagna GP. The iconic Imola circuit is a fan favorite. McLaren star Oscar Piastri headed into the weekend as the favorite. The Australian driver once again showed his great form this year as he clinched pole position in Qualifying. However, Piastri hinted that he was actually facing a downside compared to his rivals.

It was Max Verstappen who held provisional pole position after the first Q3 runs. Oscar Piastri was right behind the reigning world champion in second place. While Lando Norris sat at third. The next run is always the most crucial in F1 as the track continues to get quicker in the ending stages of the session, courtesy of more rubber on-track.

McLaren opted for a different approach with Oscar Piastri in the second run. The 24-year-old was sent out before the rest of the cars, giving him clean air. However, Piastri was not so happy with this strategy. The Australian driver claimed that this put him in a position where he couldn’t get slipstream from any cars upfront. The lack of slipstream could cost a driver a couple of tenths of a second in the right conditions.

I wasn’t thrilled to be the first car on track, you lose the slipstream but you don’t have any dirty air. That’s what we chose to do, we have enough pace to be able to do that and the team did great.
Oscar Piastri said post-qualifying

Nevertheless, all turned out well for the McLaren star. Oscar Piastri, who leads the championship, managed to pull off an impressive lap, handing him pole position. Max Verstappen, who put in his final lap time after Piastri, was less than a tenth slower than the 24-year-old.

Oscar Piastri: I wasn't thrilled to be the first car on track, you lose the slipstream but you don't have any dirty air. That's what we chose to do, we have enough pace to be able to do that and the team did great.
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) May 17, 2025

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Oscar Piastri confesses ‘tough session’ on way to pole position

The Emilia Romagna GP Qualifying was a difficult session for all drivers. Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda suffered a huge crash in Q1, ending his race and bringing out the red flag. Shortly after the session resumed, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto led to another red flag. The delays further made things complicated as drivers lost the rhythm a couple of times.

Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Andrea Stella (via F1)

Oscar Piastri was ultimately happy with his performance as he grabbed pole position. Though, the 24-year-old highlighted that the session was not easy with multiple interruptions over the span of one hour. Moreover, the McLaren driver admitted facing some struggles with the tire compounds during his runs. He was also not happy to face traffic in the final stages of his Q3 run.

It was a great session but a tough session with all the delays and red flags. And with the tyres as well, today the C6 was a real mystery. The lap was good, I had about four cars in the last corner which didn’t help.
Oscar Piastri explained

Oscar Piastri’s pole lap was not as easy as fans might’ve assumed during the broadcast. The Australian driver opened up on a few hindrances during the session. Nevertheless, the championship leader knew how to manage the lap and get the most out of the MCL39. Now, fans would hope to see Piastri take his fifth win of the season on Sunday.

Tags: emilia romagna gp Oscar Piastri

#About the Author

Armaan Agarwal

(2640 Articles Published)

Armaan Agarwal is a Motorsport Sub-editor and Content Manager at Firstsportz. He has written over 2500 articles with around 1000 edited pieces under his belt. Armaan has years of experience in the field of journalism, having followed Formula 1 and NASCAR for almost a decade. Nico Rosberg's title victory at the 2016 Abu Dhabi GP against Lewis Hamilton remains engraved in his memory. He started his journey with his own motorsport blog in 2017. At Firstsportz, Armaan provides deep insight into the sport for fans through his special editorial pieces. Armaan has several other skills, including social media content creation, script writing, and debating. He completed his Bachelors of Arts in Mass Communication with a gold medal from St. Xavier’s University Kolkata. Presently, he is pursuing his Post Graduation in Broadcast Journalism at the India Today Media Institute with a keen eye at the ever-evolving dynamics of a newsroom. Apart from motorsport, he is an avid reader and keeps himself up to date with current affairs.

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