The second event of the month comes to life with the Bahrain GP press conference. Attending were Jack Doohan, Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon, Oscar Piastri, Lance Stroll and Andrea Kimi Antonelli. As for the Austrian driver of the McLaren team, the first questions he was asked were about the Japanese GP and the double podium obtained by the British team, which had to settle for second and third place given Max Verstappen's victory.
Different possible scenarios at Suzuka?
When asked if McLaren could have won in the Land of the Rising Sun, the Australian's answer was dry and pointed: “Yes, only by qualifying ahead of Max” - 'We evaluated many things, but in the end our conclusion was this, qualifying was crucial. Although we still have an advantage in the race, in qualifying we have to rise to the occasion: everything is open, it will be a hard-fought championship all year and we have to be on top form all weekend," he admitted.
‘Our car was faster, but I think the gaps would have been different if we had been the other way round [at the start].’ Piastri seems to have very clear ideas about the events at Suzuka but now his mind is only on Bahrain, a track where historically McLaren has never achieved great results.
Between awareness and cruel realities
During the course of his interview, Piastri hinted that Verstappen only finished a couple of seconds ahead of the McLarens last weekend. Had either Papaya been in front of him, the gap would have been much, much bigger.
However, the lack of overtaking opportunities, combined with less tyre degradation than expected, meant that Verstappen was not much of a threat to his victory; but that does not mean that Red Bull suddenly has a faster car than the British team. Piastri is aware of his team's great abilities and the praise he gave during the conference certainly did not go unnoticed.
"The laws of physics say that you will never have the perfect car, so you are always working on something. The car has its moments, there are many ideas and philosophies that are the same [as in 2024] but it's difficult to get a lap time. But if I had to choose between all 10 cars on the grid, I would always choose ours."
Debunking the statistics
In the past, McLaren has not been very competitive in Bahrain. This year, however, everything could change: according to what we have seen in pre-season testing, this track enhances the skills of the MCL39, which could show superiority over its rivals.
However, the temperatures could play a key role, as admitted by Piastri himself, who admits to feeling positive about the weekend, but aware that his rivals will not be far behind: "On paper, if you designed a perfect track for this car, it would not be so. But the tests show that we are in a good position, the car responded very well in Febbrary. Now, the weather compared to the tests is about 20 degrees warmer and that will change things, but we are ready to give it our all,' he concluded.
Below you can find the link with all the timetables, and finally, we remind you that the Formula1.it editorial staff will provide you with the live text and summary of the sessions in case you cannot follow the event live.
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Read also: F1 2025 - Where to watch the Bahrain GP on TV and streaming
