Oscar Piastri is the first driver to claim multiple pole positions in the 2025 F1 season after the McLaren star sealed P1 on the grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday.
The 24-year-old was also the only driver to set a 1:29 lap time throughout qualifying to deny Mercedes racer George Russell by 0.168 seconds. Piastri set a 1:29.841 with his last attempt in Q3, while McLaren teammate Lando Norris could only manage a 1:30.267 and came sixth.
Topping qualifying for the Bahrain GP also means Piastri has recorded his first and second F1 career poles in the space of only three rounds. The Australian topped Q3 for the first time in Shanghai – where Piastri converted his first F1 pole to win the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix, too.
Piastri also now ranks as the best qualifier for the 2025 F1 season so far with two poles plus his P2 on the Australian Grand Prix grid and his P3 on the Japanese Grand Prix grid. His pole in Sakhir further gives the Melbourne native a chance to slash his 13-point deficit to Norris.
Oscar Piastri’s ‘silky smooth’ Bahrain GP pole lap reminds Karun Chandhok of Alain Prost
Norris opened an early advantage to Piastri in the F1 drivers’ championship largely thanks to the latter spinning from P2 in Australia before recovering to P9. Now, Piastri gets a chance to regain what he lost after his pole in Bahrain, which reminded Karun Chandhok of Alain Prost.
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| RANK | DRIVER | TEAM | GAP |
| 1 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:29.841 |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.168s |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.334s |
| 4 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.372s |
| 5 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +0.375s |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.426s |
| 7 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.582s |
| 8 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | +0.839s |
| 9 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.931s |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | +1.658s |
Chandhok lauded Piastri on Sky Sports F1 (12/4, 18:29) after scoring pole for the Bahrain GP with the McLaren driver’s ‘silky smooth’ lap that drew echoes of Prost’s car control. The ex-HRT racer also likened Piastri’s car control to Jenson Button and felt it was like slow motion.
Chandhok said: “Down into Turn 1, watch his hands. Look at how smooth he is. Look at how calm the steering inputs are. That is a driver at one with his car, completely comfortable. It is just like watching a Jenson Button or an Alain Prost lap. Silky smooth.”
He also continued: “Just watch Oscar’s hands into 13. Just see. How smooth is that? It’s like watching it in slow motion but it’s not. That is genuinely a driver so comfortable, he knows exactly where the car is going to be and the car is predictable.”
Oscar Piastri matches Gilles Villeneuve as the 75th F1 driver with two or more poles
Piastri admitted his ‘desperation’ to score an F1 pole before registering the feat for the first time in China. Now that the Australian has overcome his eagerness, it has not taken the 24-year-old long to secure a second pole and Piastri will hope it also leads to another race win.
READ MORE: All to know about Alain Prost including Ayrton Senna rivalry and failed F1 team
The McLaren ace is also the 75th Formula 1 driver to score two or more pole positions with Piastri even now level with Gilles Villeneuve and John Watson. Prost scored 33 poles during his F1 career to rank sixth, level with Jim Clark, and one place behind Max Verstappen (41).
Prost also secured 10 of his 33 poles with McLaren from 1984 to 1989, during which he won three of the Frenchman’s four drivers’ titles in 1985, 1986 and 1989. The Lorette native also earned 30 of his 51 Grand Prix victories whilst Prost raced for McLaren, who have 191 wins.
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