Piastri stays positive after “tricky day” in Canada

Oscar Piastri admitted it was “a little bit of a tricky day” for McLaren in Montreal, as the team trialled a trio of upgrades but ended Friday practice without either driver topping the timesheets.

McLaren’s focus during the opening day of practice in Montreal was centred around a host of new upgrades the team have brought to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Both circuit-specific and for performance, the MCL39 sported three upgrades during FP1 — a new front wing, front suspension geometry and a circuit-specific rear wing — making it no surprise to see Oscar Piastri rushing out of the pitlane with a big aero-rake in FP1.

Only running a short opening stint, Piastri ventured out on the soft compound tyre before returning to the pitlane shortly, remaining in the McLaren garage for the foreseeable future as the team worked to remove the chunky aero tools from his car. 

His stay in the pitlane was extended due to a Red Flag which halted the session until the halfway mark, with Piastri rejoining the action on the C6 tyre.

He set an opening time that was 1.7 seconds off the benchmark pace, working to reduce the margin to under one second on his next attempt.

Circulating outside of the top ten, the Australian’s program didn’t see him making an impression on the timesheets as he begged the pit wall to find him a pocket of clear air down.

Throwing his MCL39 across the kerbs at Turn 7, Piastri improved up the order, however, only just when he slotted into P14, two-tenths behind a struggling Norris.

A time of 1:14.198s remained the Australian’s fastest through to the chequered flag, with Piastri completing a practice start on the grid before retreating to the pitlane, welcoming the reset ahead of FP2.

“I think the new parts have done what we expected,” Piastri said.

“I think we made a good step from FP1 to FP2, and [we] just need to try and make the same step again.

“So yeah, no alarm bells, just trying to get the car into a better window and get me in a better window.”

When McLaren unleashed both drivers for FP2, neither Piastri nor Norris had the upgraded front wing at their disposal as McLaren later confirmed the component was for testing purposes only.

Additionally, the team stripped Piastri’s MCL39 of the upgraded suspension set-up for FP2, leaving that task solely on Norris’ shoulders.

Opting to run the medium compound tyre during his first stint, Piastri completed ten laps before returning to the pitlane. 

During those first ten tours of the 4.36km circuit, the #81 recorded a fastest time of 1:13.783s, leaving him out of position in P13 and just under five-tenths behind his teammate. 

Piastri finally made an impact on the order as he switched to the red-marked tyre, skyrocketing into third-fastest with a time of 1:12.595s to move into a Mercedes-powered top four.

Following a brief reset in the McLaren garage, the 24-year-old emerged on a fresh set of medium compound tyres for the final 15 minutes, switching his focus to race simulations and showing pace as he lapped around the 1:16.100s-mark — one second faster than Mercedes’ race pace.

Ending the session as the sixth fastest driver, Piastri took the chequered flag over four-tenths behind George Russell’s medium tyre benchmark as he rounded the circuit to complete a practice start on the grid. 

“It definitely ended better than it started, but I think still some improvements to try and make,” Piastri said.

“It’s been a little bit of a tricky day, just trying to window with the car and I think we’re getting there, but we still need to find a bit more. 

“The competition looks close, also just knowing what tyres to use is an interesting discussion at the moment, so I’m sure we’ll see how we can find a bit more tomorrow.”

With Monaco being the exception, it has been a long while since neither McLaren topped a Friday practice session — with Norris even declaring it the “worst Friday of the year” — making tomorrow’s final hour one to watch as the team vows to put together a strong Saturday outing in Montreal.

The final hour of practice will kick off at 02:30 AEST, followed by the all-important Qualifying shootout which takes place at 06:00 AEST. 

Image: McLaren

2025 Canadian Grand Prix Schedule (AEST):

Saturday, June 14th:

FP1: 03:30 – 04:30

FP2: 07:00 – 08:00

Sunday, June 15th:

FP3: 02:30 – 03:30

Qualifying: 06:00 – 07:00

Monday, June 16th:

Race: 04:00

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