Piastri sees rivals to be also strong: 'Leclerc, Russell and Verstappen also fast at times!'

11:45, 13 Apr

byKada Sarkozi

Oscar Piastri did not expect that the gap will be this close in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix. After putting in a strong lap already in FP3, the Australian driver saw his rivals get closer to him than what he thought would happen.

"I think the performance we had in FP3 was even a mystery to us and we knew everyone would get a lot closer. It's been kind of up and down for everybody," Piastri began after qualifying.

The McLaren driver also saw rivals showing great pace at times. "One session seems to be Charles that's challenging us, then George. Max was quick at certain points. It sort of seemed like everyone was peaking at different times. Still had to be on my toes because a tenth and a half was a bit closer than I expected after this morning, definitely," he continued at the press conference.

Piastri believes that strategy will be important during the Bahrain Grand Prix

According to the driver, it will be important to get the strategy right on Sunday. "Everyone's got very different tyres up and down the grid. George has only got one hard and one medium. Charles and I have got two mediums. Max has got two hards, so it's a bit of a mix."

He added: "We'll see what everyone goes for tomorrow because I think it's a bit of a lottery at the moment. I think it will definitely be more exciting from a strategic point of view, but for my sake, I hope not too exciting."

So far in the 2025 season, every driver that started from pole position managed to convert starting from the best position on the grid into taking the victory as well.

Currently, Lando Norris leads the drivers' championship a single point ahead of Max Verstappen. Piastri is 13 points behind his teammate. With the Briton and the Red Bull driver starting from P6 and P7 respectively, the Australian has a good chance of making good progress today in Sakhir in this regard.

The Bahrain Grand Prix will start at 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT).

This article was written in collaboration with Estéban den Toom