Piastri eyes six-way fight at Silverstone: “It’s going to be a fun one”

Oscar Piastri is predicting a “chaotic” six-way fight for victory at the British Grand Prix, after navigating a challenging Qualifying session to secure a front-row start at Silverstone — a result he admitted came with a hint of disappointment.

The Australian will lineup in P2 alongside Max Verstappen, with his solid efforts in a marginal and changeable hour shootout around Silverstone placing him ahead of his teammate and the threatening Ferrari duo ahead of the 52-lap dash. 

“Ultimately, reasonably happy,” Piastri said.

“But when you feel like there’s a bit more on the table and the gap is not that big to pole, there’s always a slight disappointment.”

A sure favourite to secure a front-row start for his team’s home Grand Prix, Piastri was quick to make his presence known in Q1 when he shot to the top of the initial standings with a time of 1:26.002s — just 0.039s ahead of an uncomfortable Max Verstappen.

Yellow flags struck the circuit when Piastri set off on his next out-lap, with Franco Colapinto’s session coming to a dusty end moments later, before the rest of the field was forced to pause as a Red Flag was promptly declared to clear the wounded Alpine.

When the drivers were finally permitted to return to the circuit, the Australian noted that the earlier sprinkling of rain had increased during the delay — a sentiment echoed by Lewis Hamilton, who declared the track more slippery than before. 

Piastri backed out of his first flying run, allowing Verstappen to get the jump on him, before he launched for one final Q1 effort, improving but not enough to hold onto P1 as the chequered flag waved — a matter irrelevant in advancing to the second stage.

Inspired by the Dutchman’s early Q2 prowess, Piastri exactly matched Verstappen’s benchmark time of 1:25.316s, which forced him to sit in P2 due to the fact that he recorded his run after Verstappen.

Having been beaten by his teammate on his way back to the pitlane, the championship leader took a brief moment to reset in the garage before joining the rest of the field on track for his final attempt — noting cheeky tactics being employed as he slotted into line in the fast lane. 

Using the lap to gauge the conditions, the Australian didn’t improve on his last run, instead advancing to the top ten shootout in P5 with his original time holding strong. 

Piastri said he wasn’t necessarily surprised by the fine margins throughout the session, but rather “how each car is generating their lap time”.

“You look at the speed traces and they all look completely different, but they end up basically at the same point at the end of the lap,” he said. 

“So, that’s been quite interesting to get our heads around. 

“I’m not that surprised that Max is quick here. 

“It’s quite similar to Suzuka, similar conditions to Suzuka. 

“Clearly, they found some pace from yesterday. 

“I think the big surprise was Ferrari yesterday, and even this morning. So not a huge surprise that it was so tight. 

“Maybe how many teams were involved was a surprise, but it’s been tight in nine out of ten Qualifyings this year.”

Exiting the pitlane was a struggle in itself for the ten unrelenting drivers left in the fight for pole position, with Piastri forced to put a “pretty marginal” moment of his own on the back-burner, as he put his visor down for his first attempt at securing P1.

The Australian charged through the lap, setting three fastest sectors on his way to the top of the order, securing provisional pole with a standout time of 1:24.995s despite a high-speed trip across the kerbs on the exit of Stowe.

“I was happy with the first lap,” Piastri said. 

“The first time was mega, to be honest. 

“I was trying to think of how I was going to go faster, and I didn’t.”

The #81 added: “I think the first time was very good. 

“I don’t know how much the track would have improved, but a little bit on the table, whatever it was, it wasn’t enough. 

“The team’s done a great job. 

“We’ve tried a lot of things this weekend, trying to get a bit more pace. 

“The car’s felt mega all weekend, but there’s been a few points where we were scratching our heads as to why we’re not quicker. 

“So yeah, the team doing a great job getting us back onto the form that we know. 

“It’ll be an exciting race tomorrow.”

Exiting the pitlane behind his teammate with three minutes to go, McLaren CEO Zak Brown confirmed that Piastri was carrying minor floor damage from his moment at Turn 15, however, that didn’t impact his “mega” run through the first sector.

The #81 was on the ball as he charged through Sector 1, setting the fastest S1 time before Hamilton stole that accolade.

A combination of environmental conditions and over-ambition got the better of the Australian through the remaining 13 corners, with a scrappy run through the final corner only adding time to his slower second attempt. 

As a result, Piastri’s first effort of 1:24.995s remained his fastest in Q3, allowing him to hold onto the top spot over his teammate, who also had a messy final run, before Verstappen stole the dream result from McLaren’s hands.

“The second lap was a bit scruffy, couple of moments that caught me a bit by surprise,” he admitted.

“I mean, I always hate blaming wind, but I need to see if it was the wind. 

“But also, maybe trying a bit too hard in a couple of places as well to make up for it. 

“Overall, pretty happy. 

“It’s been tight all weekend, especially through qualifying, so P2 is not a bad result.”

The Red Bull driver’s continuous words of doubt regarding his RB21 seemingly dissipated as he lit up the timesheets on his last-ditch lap, setting two fastest sectors before clocking a time of 1:24.892s to secure his 44th pole position by one-tenth of a second.

Passing the Dutchman during tomorrow’s 52-lap race isn’t as certain as it has been in the past for McLaren, with the top six drivers all well and truly in with a shot a standing on the historic podium on Sunday at Silverstone, however, Piastri is more determined than ever to extend his championship lead in front of Lando Norris’ home crowd.

“It’s going to be a fun race,” Piastri said.

“You know, it’s been very evenly matched between Max [Verstappen], the Ferraris, I saw even George [Russell] being up there at the end. 

“So I think it’s going to be a pretty evenly paced race tomorrow, and all of us have got slightly different strengths. 

“Red Bull is very quick in a straight line, we’re going to be quick in the high-speed. 

“So yeah, it’s going to be a fun one. That’s all. We’re going to enjoy it.”

Lights out for the British Grand Prix will take place at 00:00 AEST, with the added thrill of wet weather looming at Silverstone making it a race not to miss when Piastri launches from P2. 

Image: Andy Hone/LAT Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

2025 British Grand Prix Schedule:

Friday, July 04:

FP1: 21:30 – 22:30

Saturday, July 05:

FP2: 01:00 – 02:00

FP3: 20:30 – 21:30

Sunday, July 06:

Qualifying: 00:00 – 01:00

Monday, July 07:

Race: 00:00

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