Oscar Piastri Predicts A “Pretty Tough Race” After Stealing the Qatar GP Pole from Lando Norris

Despite starting from pole position at the Qatar GP, Oscar Piastri expects a difficult outing against Lando Norris on Sunday.

Oscar Piastri Predicts A “Pretty Tough Race” After Stealing the Qatar GP Pole from Lando Norris

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

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Oscar Piastri has finally seemed to regain his lost pace at the Qatar GP. The Aussie clinched the pole position for both the Sprint and the regular Qualifying sessions. Moreover, Piastri won the Sprint Race and is heading into the main race with a great start so far. Despite his positive outing so far, he expects a pretty tough outing against Norris on Sunday.

Oscar Piastri emerged as one of the best drivers at the Qatar GP. Though he was struggling massively in multiple races after the summer break, he has seemed to find his lost pace. The Aussie will start the race from P1 with Lando Norris breathing down his neck in P2. As such, despite dominating the earlier sessions, Piastri does not expect a miraculous outing on Sunday.

Speaking on a highly positive outing in the Qualifying, Oscar Piastri insisted that he was very happy with the results so far. However, the Qatar GP is going to have enforced rules for two pit stops during race day. Hence, the 24-year-old expects many difficulties during race day, especially against Lando Norris. The Aussie aims to push flat out on Sunday and win the race after an entire session of hard work.

Moreover, Oscar Piastri made no changes to the McLaren challenger after dominating both the initial sessions. Piastri’s crew decided to go with the ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ mentality after the sprint victory. The 24-year-old is now just 22 points adrift of the championship lead and won’t have as many difficulties during race day to remain in contention for the title.

Very happy. Pretty tough [tomorrow] with the two-stops, we’ll be pushing flat out the whole time. I’m expecting a pretty tough race, it will be hard work. No, we left it pretty much the same, minor tweaks here and there. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! The team did a very good job.

Oscar Piastri said in a post-quali interview.

Oscar Piastri aims to replicate his sprint performance at the Qatar GP

The Qatar GP is one of the more pleasant tracks for Oscar Piastri, as his first sprint victory came on this very circuit. The Aussie will hope to keep up with the positive momentum that he has built so far this weekend. Though Norris and Max Verstappen will not make life any easier for the pole sitter, he will still have a great shot to stay ahead in the lead during the Turn 1 carnage.

Oscar Piastri (via Getty)
Oscar Piastri (via Getty)

Oscar Piastri asserted that he would try his best to emerge victorious in the main race, and his life would be just a little easier after he starts the race from pole. He continued that he will try to replicate his Sprint performance and maximize the result as much as possible. If Piastri loses the race win to Lando Norris, the Briton will already be hailed as the 2025 driver’s champion. Hence, the 24-year-old must win the race at any cost.

I’ll try my best, starting from the best spot. I’ll try and do what I did in the Sprint…

Oscar Piastri noted.

The 2025 season is almost complete, with just one more race to go after the Qatar GP. The championship will likely drag on until the season finale in Abu Dhabi as Oscar Piastri is poised for a race win. However, anything can happen on Sunday, and the newly implemented two-pit-stop rule is definitely going to make things more interesting.

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