The Japanese Grand Prix saw Max Verstappen pampering what looked like a McLaren victory party when the Red Bull driver pole position of Lando Norris Niet and Norris and Oscar Piestri kept it remotely through the race for his first victory of the 2025 season.
Piastri made South thought it was not a report performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Australian driver has done a dominant performance for McLaren, taking pole position on Saturday and closing the door on all challengers, taking George Russell to take the Bahrain Grand Prix and became the first repeated winner of the 2025 season.
With Norris who recovered from a poor qualification performance to climb to the third, McLaren extended their lead over Mercedes in the construction championship to 58 points.
With regard to the drivers, the McLaren duo is separated by only three points, with Norris at 77 points and Pienestri at 74.
“It was an incredible weekend, starting with the qualification yesterday and yes, to end the job today in style was nice,” Piastri Trackside said to Karun Chandhok. “So yes, the team can visit enough for the car they have given us. It is pretty handy outside. So no, it has been a great weekend and, yes, Vray proud of what I did this. Very proud to do it here in Bahrain. Of course there is a different important race for us, given our owners, given our owners our owners, given our owners.
Mumalaket, the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, bought the McLaren group in 2024.
“It is fantastic to achieve the first victory here for the team,” added Piastri in the FIA press conference. “Of course it means a lot for all those involved. There have been many difficult years for the McLaren team, and of course the owners have tried to turn those problems around. To be successful for the first home floor for the team is an incredible result and it earned.
While McLaren was a little criticism of how they deal with the strategy behind Verstappen at the Japanese Grand Prix, the team was about to go through the race according to Piastri, starting with their decision to start the race on the soft tires.
“I mean, we thought a bit that most people would start on the mild. You know, George had only one medium and one difficult, and there were quite a few people around us in the same boat,” Piastri said. “So yes, we felt that Startining on the Soft would be the best option, and I think it was the right choice in the end. So happy with how we managed everything. Made the right calls.”
McLaren hope to make the right calls again next week, as the first Triple header of the season that puts you an end with the Saudi-Arab Grand Prix.