Oscar Piastri's paradox in qualifying

World Championship leader before arriving in Miami, Oscar piastri has 106 points after five Grands Prix and one sprint race so far. Without his mistake made in the rain in Melbourne, the driver McLaren could have even accumulated an even more impressive total ahead of its competitors.

However, although the domination of the number 81 driver is not in doubt, and he is naturally among the favorites of the season given the advance of his car, one detail somewhat tarnishes the picture. After eight qualifying sessions, including classic formats as well as sprints, Oscar Piastri has only two pole positions. For the times he hasn't tamed the clock, he has come dangerously close to the lead.

Extremely small gaps for Piastri

By setting pole position in Bahrain, Oscar Piastri had achieved an unusual performance. At the end of a particularly close start to the 2025 season, the McLaren driver was the first to set a pole-winning time with a gap to second place of more than one tenth. 0.168 thousandths was the gap to the time set by George Russell then behind him.

Even more impressive, when the teammate of Lando Norris is not quite at the front, the gap to the poleman is again particularly small. With a deficit of only 45 thousandths to Antonelli during the SQ3 on Friday evening, Oscar Piastri had managed to stay within his standards. 10 thousandths behind the pole of Max Verstappen in Saudi Arabia, 44 thousandths still in Japan, 80 thousandths behind Lewis Hamilton in China before tackling the sprint, or even 84 thousandths of a second difference with his teammate in Melbourne for the opening round, these are the minimal results that Mark Webber's protégé was responsible for.

In Miami, however, the gap of more than a sixth to polesitter Max Verstappen cost him the front row. Ahead of him, Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli came between them, ending a fine run for the Australian up to this point. A strong performer in the race, the Australian is certainly aiming for another victory after coming close to victory in the sprint. Still missing out on pole due to several mistakes made this weekend, the championship leader can count on a machine with the potential to make up such gaps. In the rain, however, the cards could be reshuffled once again.

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