Speaking in the wake of Friday afternoon’s successful FP2 session ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri suggested tomorrow’s qualifying session may prove more challenging for the Woking based team.
Friday’s FP2 session proved successful for McLaren as they continued their strong run of form. Following a 1-2 finish in FP1, the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris once again topped the time sheets in FP2. The session finished with Piastri leading his teammate by just 0.025s, with third place Gasly 2 tenths further back.
“We still want to find a bit more…”
Despite a strong showing throughout Friday, Piastri remained cautious about the competition. Speaking in the media pen after FP2, the championship leader suggested McLaren will need to find more ahead of qualifying.
“This wouldn’t be the first Friday where we’ve looked strong and then everyone has found a bit more going into Qualifying,” Piastri said. “I think we still want to find a bit more but everything has gone pretty smoothly. The cars feeling decent, still a few more things to tweak but all in all, not bad.”
Looking ahead to qualifying and the race, Piastri suggested Saturday’s session may be more competitive. The young Aussie put plenty of emphasis on qualifying, as Sunday’s Grand Prix may prove difficult to overtake.
“Saturday has been very important pretty much everywhere this year,” he continued. “I think, regardless of what the rest of this year has looked like, Imola is a place where Qualifying means a lot and that is going to be important but at the moment I don’t think it’s just Lando and I.
“I think there’s a few others that will join us in the fight tomorrow so we’ve got to keep our heads down and try and find a bit more.”
On the other side of the McLaren garage, predictions remained similar. Despite a near perfect start to the 2025 season, with 5 wins out of 6 Grands Prix, Lando Norris also suggested qualifying may be a challenge.
“I don’t think we’re in a comfortable place…”
Echoing his teammate, Norris pointed to his competitors who seemed to show solid pace in free practice.
“We always look much better than everyone,” Norris commented following the session. “Then we get to Qualifying and they catch up so I don’t think we’re in a comfortable place.
“We still have work to do. Alpine were quick, they’ve always been quick here and I’m sure Red Bull will catch and Mercedes will be on it just when they turn their engines up.”
