Formula One 2025: All the news ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola

Can Oscar Piastri run away with the F1 world championship, fellow rookie’s “incredibly harsh” assessment on Jack Doohan’s demotion and McLaren learns FIA fate after post-Miami checks.

McLaren star Oscar Piastri has underlined his “potential to have a really good year”, but stopped short of declaring he can run away with this year’s world championship.

After securing a third straight victory with a dominant win in Miami, Piastri extended his title lead to 16 points over his McLaren teammate Lando Norris.

Having won four of the opening six races of the season, Piastri’s commanding start to his 2025 campaign has ignited hopes he can become Australia’s first Formula 1 world champion in 45 years.

Asked ahead of this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola if he felt he could now run away with this year’s world championship, Piastri backed McLaren’s ability to keep winning races, but did not expect he would have things all his own way.

“I think we have strengths and characteristics to keep winning races, definitely,” Piastri said.

“We’ve seen at various tracks that the competition is close. I’m not expecting every weekend to look like Sunday did in Miami. Friday and Saturday in Miami didn’t look as good as Sunday, that’s for sure.

“So I think there will be a lot of competition, but I feel like I’m driving well at the moment.

Oscar Piastri attends a press conference ahead of the 2025 Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix at the Imola. Picture: Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP

“I feel like the team’s doing a really good job helping me get the most out of myself, get the most out of the car.

“Clearly the car is very strong. So, yeah, I think we have the potential to have a really good year, but I’m not too concerned about that at the moment – just trying to win more races.”

Piastri has only finished off the podium once this year when he finished ninth in the season opening race in his home grand prix at Albert Park, won by Norris.

The 24-year-old, who finished just shy of the podium in fourth place at Imola last year, said he was revelling in the ride so far this season – and more so the fruits of the hard work behind the scenes.

“When you’ve won four out of six, it’s been a great start,” Piastri said.

“I’ve been enjoying the success we’ve been having on track, but what’s been satisfying is all the work we’ve done behind the scenes to achieve that.

“It’s quite a different feeling when you win a race because you feel like you’ve just gotten by or had good circumstances.

“But to now be winning because we have an incredibly quick car and I feel like I’m driving well, that’s very satisfying.

“Of course, I’ve been enjoying standing on the podium as well. But more so the hard work behind the success.”

PLAY ON

Piastri said he had “no concerns” over the legality of his McLaren after the team was cleared of illegally using liquid to cool its tyres following FIA checks post-Miami.

McLaren’s ability to better manage its tyre temperatures had led to suspicions from some of its rivals that the papaya squad had been using tactics outside of the rule book.

The team’s chief executive Zak Brown made light of this paddock conjecture in Miami when he had a drink bottle labelled “tire water” with him as he sat at the pit wall.

McLaren celebrate after their one-two finish at the Miami Grand Prix. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

But the FIA has released a technical delegates report ahead of this weekend’s race in Imola from the previous race in Miami clearing McLaren of any wrongdoing.

The report said Piastri’s McLaren had been “randomly chosen” for checks after Miami and “all inspected components were found to be in conformance with the 2025 Formula 1 technical regulations”.

Asked to comment on the findings, Piastri said he had not paid any attention to the paddock scuttlebutt, nor had any concerns about his car.

“I honestly haven’t read anything because I’ve not been concerned,” Piastri said.

“Maybe next time we’ll put some little figurines in a water slide as well – I don’t know – we’ll come up with something.

“But clearly it’s all been passed. I had no concerns. Play on.”

ROOKIE SUPPORT

Haas rookie Oliver Bearman has hit out at Alpine’s decision to demote Jack Doohan after six races as “very unfair” and “incredibly harsh”.

And fellow rookie Isack Hadjar also lent his support for Doohan, saying that the Australian’s situation “smelled a bit bad” from the beginning of the season.

Doohan has been replaced by Alpine’s Argentinian reserve driver Franco Colapinto from this weekend’s race at Imola.

Jack Doohan and Oliver Bearman during pre-season testing in Bahrain. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Alpine said Colapinto would race alongside Pierre Gasly for the next five rounds ahead of a “new evaluation” before the British Grand Prix in July.

Doohan, meanwhile, will be the team’s “first-choice” reserve driver during that time.

It had been a turbulent start to the year for the son of former motorcycle champion Mick Doohan with talk his seat was under threat emerging soon after Alpine signed Colapinto as a reserve driver in January.

On track, Doohan failed to score a point in the opening six rounds and suffered two DNFs.

But Bearman said the situation Doohan was faced with had been a “horrible situation” and he should have been afforded more time.

“I think it’s very difficult in that situation to have that pressure weighing over your head already from race one,” Bearman said as per motorsport.com.

“I can only imagine it’s a horrible situation and I feel like his treatment was very unfair. Coming from his position, being a rookie myself, it’s very difficult, especially the first quarter of the season.

“We’ve gone to – I think – four of six tracks that have been new to us as rookies.

“We’ve had two sprint events which are even more difficult for us as rookies. And before he even gets to the European season where they’re the tracks he knows, he’s already thrown out of the car.

Alpine driver Franco Colapinto of Argentina. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

“So, yeah, incredibly harsh in my opinion.”

Racing Bulls rookie Hadjar agreed Doohan should have been given more time.

“Even before the season, it smelled a bit bad because I think he entered the season with a lot of pressure expectations,” Hadjar said.

“So that’s not really a good environment and it feels quite unfair because six races in, he didn’t have much time to show anything – and it’s not like he had a rocket ship as well.”

ENDS

Originally published as Formula One 2025: All the news ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola