Piastri finds “a lot of positives” despite “tricky” day in Baku

Oscar Piastri faced a scrappy first day in Baku, with early engine issues and a handful of run-ins with the barriers dropping him from P2 in FP1 to P12 in FP2, however, he remains upbeat, noting “there’s still a lot of positives” despite the “tricky moments”.

McLaren’s push for championship confirmation got off to a rocky start in Baku, with Lando Norris called back to the pits early in FP1 to remove the pitot cover from his MCL39, before Piastri ran into a far costlier setback.

Warned of a power unit-related issue, Piastri was instructed by race engineer Tom Stallard to switch to recharge mode, ease off the throttle, and keep revs down as he limped back to the pits. 

He quickly climbed out while mechanics, assisted by a Mercedes representative, worked under the engine cover to detect and resolve the issue within the tight confines of the opening hour.

A beneficial Red Flag kept his personal loss to a minimum, and once running resumed, Piastri rejoined the action to initially clock a 1:44.852s that left him 1.1 seconds behind Norris. 

Settling into rhythm, he climbed into the top three and ultimately secured second with a final time of 1:43.014s, despite brushing the wall at Turn 15 late in the opening session.

“[The day was] a bit tricky, yeah, just up and down,” Piastri said.

“I think the pace is there, it’s just not the easiest to get the most out of it at the moment, so that’s probably the main thing, yeah.”

Putting the delay of engine issues behind him, Piastri looked for a cleaner start in FP2 and briefly topped the timesheets on soft tyres. 

As rivals improved, however, the Australian slipped down the order — even after stringing together a lap of personal best sectors.

Following Norris’ heavy hit with the wall, which saw the #4 out of action for the remainder of the session, Piastri also brushed the Turn 15 wall. 

Told to “drive slow” on his return to the pits, his McLaren was checked over and cleared, rejoining with only scuff marks to show for it.

He later dropped as low as P17 before climbing to P11, though a yellow-flag infringement — set to be investigated after the session — added to his concerns. 

Ultimately, his time of 1:42.295s left him in P12, just behind Carlos Sainz, who pipped the Australian at the last moment.

“We tried a few things in FP2, I’m sure we’ll look back and see what we can change for tomorrow, but, you know, I think it’s going to be a bit different with tyre choices and stuff like that,” Piastri said.

“I think there’s still a lot of positives from today, just a few tricky moments.”

Hoping to put the first day jitters behind him, Piastri will take on the final hour of practice at 18:30 AEST on Saturday, followed by the hour shootout to determine the grid for the main event Piastri claimed victory at in 2024.

Image: McLaren

2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Weekend Schedule (AEST):

Friday, September 19th:

FP1: 18:30 – 19:30

FP2: 22:00 – 23:00

Saturday, September 20th:

FP3: 18:30 – 19:30

Qualifying: 22:00 – 23:00

Sunday, September 21st:

Race: 21:00

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