Oscar Piastri believes it will be “difficult” for McLaren to repeat the dominance they displayed during the Miami Grand Prix as the F1 season continues, after the Australian and team mate Lando Norris surged ahead of the competition last time out.
Piastri and Norris finished the main race in Florida more than half a minute up on third-placed Mercedes driver George Russell, with the MCL39 embracing the Miami International Autodrome’s characteristics and managing its tyres well amid the hot, humid conditions.
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Speaking as the F1 paddock reconvened at Imola for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix weekend, Piastri reflected on McLaren’s latest performance and how the team might fare as the first European leg of the campaign gets under way.
“I think with the hotter temperatures there [in Miami], given some of the sessions we’d had earlier in the season, we thought that might play more to our strengths – and I think Sunday did prove that,” said the F1 championship leader.
Piastri is 16 points clear of team mate Norris in the championship standings
“I’m not expecting that to be the case every weekend… I would love that to be the case every weekend, but I think [given] those hotter conditions, and that circuit characteristic, I think it will be difficult for us to repeat that result consistently.”
He continued: “We’ve got very soft tyres this weekend, so maybe that will help us, but it’s obviously a lot cooler than it was in Miami. The track is also incredibly different, much bumpier, much higher speed in general.
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“I expect the competition to be closer than it was in Miami. We saw in Qualifying that the competition was on our heels and ahead of us [with Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen taking the pole positions].
“We still have to make sure we go out and execute everything as well as we can, because if we falter a little bit, we’ve got plenty of competition that can beat us.”
Piastri arrives in Italy with a 16-point advantage over Norris in the Drivers’ Championship standings, having won four of the six Grands Prix staged up to this point in 2025, while McLaren are 105 points clear of nearest rivals Mercedes in the Teams’ battle.
He was speaking in Thursday’s pre-weekend press conference at the Imola circuit
Asked how much he is enjoying the season given that impressive run, Piastri said: “It’s pretty hard to say that I’m not, when you’ve won four out of six. It’s been a great start to the year, obviously.
“I’ve been enjoying the success we’re having on track, but I think for me what’s been very satisfying is all the work we’ve done behind the scenes to achieve that.
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“It’s quite a different feeling when you win a race because you feel like you’ve just got by or you had good circumstances, but to now be winning because we have an incredibly quick car, and I feel like I’m driving well, that’s very satisfying for me.”
Piastri’s weekend has started well thanks to him picking up the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy for his performances across the 2024 season, when he helped McLaren claim their first Teams’ title since the late-1990s.
The trophy is awarded annually to a driver, person or team in F1 for “commendable performance”, having been introduced in 1992 in honour of Italian racer Lorenzo Bandini, who passed away after an accident at the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix.
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