18/04/2025
NEWS STORY
Oscar Piastri is confident that McLaren will enable him to battle teammate Lando Norris for the 2025 title.
Previously, be it strategy, and certainly in terms of updates, priority has favoured the Briton. However, Piastri is confident that as the title fight looks to become an all-out fight between the two Woking drivers, there will be parity.
This year, the situation is very, very different," Piastri explained.
"Last year, especially at the beginning of the season, we were incredibly keen to get whatever performance we could onto the car as quickly as possible, and we needed to make up a points deficit in the constructors' championship, especially," he told reporters in Jeddah. "This year, we're in a very different position."
In Austria 2023, and again last year in Miami, events at which significant, game-changing upgrades were introduced, Norris got first call. Understandably, the Australian fears that should this be the case this season it could compromise his championship hopes.
"We have already a decent gap in the constructors' championship, and both of us are fighting for the drivers' championship," he said. "I think it's expected that we'll both have an equal opportunity and the same car to be able to fight for the championship.
"Obviously, in the constructors' championship, we're in a good place, and while we have the opportunity to keep it equal and have the same car every weekend, we should do that."
One area that is down to the driver and not the team is qualifying, and last season Piastri was out-qualified 20-4, this year, after just races, they are even.
"The hard work we've been putting in definitely has been making a difference," said the Australian. "I've felt comfortable in qualifying and felt like I've taken a bit of a step up.
"Last year, it wasn't much that I often missed out by," he continued. "This year, I've had a couple qualifying sessions just on the wrong side of that gap still, but also more qualifying on the ride side of that gap now.
"It's been a lot of hard work in a lot of different areas trying to get those last few hundredths of a second, and I think it has been paying off."
As shown in Japan, qualifying going to be vital this season.
"Qualifying is incredibly important regardless of the intra-team dynamics," agreed the Australian. "Pit stop preferences and whatever that causes, just the power of clean air is so important. Regardless of that, you always want to be qualifying at the front.
"With two drivers in the same car, I think with very similar pace, whenever you can be ahead it's a pretty major advantage, so it is going to be important to have good qualifying.
"But we've seen in the past that it's not always everything; there's other areas where you can make up the difference if you do a good enough job."
Check out our Friday gallery from Jeddah here.