F1 News: Oscar Piastri Suggests Red Bull RB20 Will Show Its True Colors During Bahrain GP Qualifying

Oscar Piastri was surprised after he finished ahead of Max Verstappen in FP2.

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri suggests that Red Bull will reveal the true colors of its RB20 F1 car during the qualifying sessions of the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Australian driver was surprised to finish ahead of Max Verstappen in P5 in Free Practice 2, and thus, he believes that Red Bull has been running the car on a low power mode until now. 

Key Takeaways:

• McLaren driver Oscar Piastri suggests that Red Bull may reveal the true potential of its RB20 F1 car during qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix, as he was surprised to finish ahead of Max Verstappen in Free Practice 2.
• Piastri believes Red Bull has been running the car on a low power mode and anticipates that the team might unleash its full pace in qualifying and the race.
• Despite uncertainties and inconsistencies in the MCL38, Piastri expresses optimism and sees the possibility of McLaren being competitive around the points and potentially near the podium or the top 10.

McLaren Press Image

Piastri was intrigued to see how much pace Red Bull had been holding back, only to unleash it in qualifying and the race, thinking the times were "much closer" than expected. On the other hand, topping the FP2 chart was seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes W15. 

Speaking to Formula 1.com about Red Bull saving the RB20's full potential for the qualifying session, he said:

"Red Bull don't look quite as quick as we thought, we'll see how many sandbags come off tomorrow.

"It's a lot closer than I expected. Mercedes looked quick, Fernando looked quick. It's always a bit hard to judge on a Friday, but I think we're sort of around the points.

"With the teams we're around, being near the podium or near 10th is very much a possibility, so hopefully we can stay near the front of that mix."

Piastri added that certain inconsistencies were still left to be dealt with on the MCL38. He said:

"I think we're in a decent place.

"Still a bit inconsistent and up and down, so it's hard to know exactly how we will fare but it looks a similar story for everyone.

"There's some runs we need to look at in more detail as to why they were how they were, both good and bad, but I think the overall feeling of the day is pretty positive.

"It always feels a bit pathetic blaming the wind on stuff but it's difficult out there when it's so windy. These cars have such a different balance and such a different amount of downforce depending on what the wind is doing.

"It was tricky out there, and tomorrow is going to be more of the same."

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