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Home F1

Piastri free to race Norris in pursuit of record-shattering Australian GP result

Oscar Piastri insists he and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris are free to race each other in tomorrow’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

Mat Coch
Mat Coch
15 Mar 2025
Mat Coch
//
15 Mar 2025
// F1
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Piastri free to race Norris in pursuit of record-shattering Australian GP result
Oscar Piastri insists he is free to race McLaren teammate Lando Norris in tomorrow’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. Image: XPB Images.

Oscar Piastri insists he is free to race McLaren teammate Lando Norris in tomorrow’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. Image: XPB Images.

Oscar Piastri insists he is free to race McLaren teammate Lando Norris in tomorrow’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. Image: XPB Images.

Piastri will line up second on the grid alongside Norris, the pair split by less than a tenth of a second.

The pair were comfortably clear of the competition, with an almost four-tenth gap to Max Verstappen in third.

“I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed because I feel like I did a job that I’m happy with,” Piastri said of narrowly missing out on pole.

“If I was sitting here going, ‘I had another two-tenths in hand and I blew it,’ then I’d be pretty upset.

“But I feel like I’ve executed well this weekend. For me, that’s all I can ask of myself.

“There’s always things you can improve and do a better job in, so I’ll try and look at where those are.

“But ultimately I’m happy with how I’ve driven this weekend.”

The qualifying result sets up a drag race to the opening corner in tomorrow’s race.

In dry conditions, McLaren is thought to have pace in hand over the field.

While there are rules in place designed to protect the team’s advantage, Piastri insists he’s free to race Norris.

“Obviously I want to win the race as much as Lando does,” he said.

“Any team, not just McLaren, the number one rule is to have no contact and to give each other space. That’s no different.

“If there are opportunities for either of us to take advantage of certain situations, then we will and we’re free to do that.

“But ultimately, we’re racing for the team.”

While confident in his pace in dry conditions, tomorrow’s race looks set to be hit by rain.

Forecasts have progressively worsened in recent days, with a chance of thunderstorms now in the mix.

“If it’s dry, then I think we’re in a good place,” Piastri reasoned.

“If it’s wet, it’s very difficult to tell [where we’ll be].

“[There are] A lot of places that can catch you out here.

“There’s a few corners that in the dry are not corners that are very much corners in the rain, so it becomes a fair bit trickier, and then you’ve got white lines everywhere.

“We had a few wet laps here a couple of years ago, so I think we’ve all done some wet running on this new layout,” he added.

“But the cars have moved on a lot since then.

“There’s a lot of unknowns… There’s still some question marks about whether some of the characteristics we’ve had in the past are still the same when it rains.”

No Australian has finished in the top three of the Australian Grand Prix since the world championship touched down in Adelaide in 1985.

Daniel Ricciardo crossed the line third at the 2014 event but was later disqualified.

The best he ultimately achieved was fourth in 2016 and 2018, equalling what Mark Webber achieved in 2012.

Starting from second, Piastri has a strong chance of breaking that record.

“It would be really special to be able to achieve that,” Piastri admitted.

“I’m not setting my sights too firmly on that.

“Obviously, we’ve got a lot of work to do to try and maximise the race.

“We’ll see what the weather does first but it would be very special.

“It would mean a lot to have an Aussie on the podium.

“That would be a good start, but if I can stand on the top step, then I’ll do everything I can to achieve that.

“Putting national pride aside, I want to do it for myself as well, so I’ll try my best,”

Sunday’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix begins at 15:00 AEDT.

Tags: australian gpmclarenoscar piastri

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88 4 3 1390
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