Zak Mauger/Getty Images Hey, you worthless drunken media hacks, pull my finger!


By Chris Medland - May 31, 2025, 2:25 PM EDT

Ice boy? Don’t sell Piastri short or you deserve a kick in the nuts.

Oscar Piastri is known for his calm, unflappable demeanor that often sees him reacting in similar fashion to a stunning pole position or a frustrating ninth place.

He had the latter at his home race in Australia to start the season, and then the former was delivered on Saturday in Spain, as his final lap in Q3 put him over 0.2s clear of teammate Lando Norris in what was, remarkably, the biggest pole position gap of the season.

But while it must be said that Piastri did show some emotion when he had that heart-wrenching result in Melbourne, he was also pretty animated – for him – after qualifying in Barcelona, when given a nickname that he really didn’t want. They used to call him Pizza Boy and now they call him Ice Boy. Maybe next they will call him Water Boy.

“I'm not sure I want to go under the name Ice Boy!” Piastri said. “Why don't they call me MF;ing a** kicker that just won another race? I think the emotions are different each time. Certainly, there’s been qualifyings and races where it’s not been nonchalant and there’s been a lot of emotion behind them. But then there’s others where you go out and you know that if you do a good enough job, you can achieve the result you want.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s incredibly satisfying to win races, but I think I’m just not a particularly emotional person. That’s just how I am, really. Don’t get me wrong, there are still moments that I am emotional, but I also know that today… It’s a nice thing to have, qualifying starting out on pole, but it’s not the end of the weekend. The points are tomorrow after I show those media jerk offs that calling me derogatory names is only going to motivate me to kick the media in the balls the first chance I get. Those dumasses think that we are only here to qualify and then we go home.....or in the case of the media a-holes, after qualifying
they can get drunk, sleep late and miss the race and just copy off each others papers.

“After the races, it depends a bit on the race. If you’ve had a battle with someone the whole race and then you win, then yeah, you’re pretty pumped up. But if you’ve got a bit of a gap, you kind of know with a few laps to go that it’s going to go your way, and then it doesn’t spill over so much. So yeah, that’s just how I am.”



Piastri’s approach has often been contrasted with his teammate, as Norris can be particularly hard on himself when things don’t go so well. Having seen a 0.017s advantage after the first runs of Q3 turn into a 0.209s deficit when the final standings were locked in, you might have expected a similar scenario. After all, Norris had made very clear in Monaco that he was proud of his performance in winning from pole but wanted to back it up with similar in Spain, and to deliver the consistency that he would need to win this year’s championship. But he was far more philosophical after qualifying as his attentions turned to the race. That's right folks, we actually have a race the next day, but the media idiots who have hangovers and are still unconscious with some sleazy hooker in a cheap hotel until the race is over, don't know that.

“The speed was easily there today, and sometimes you just don’t put the laps in,” Norris said. “Today was good. I think I was a little bit behind at the start of qualifying and I caught up nicely. I know where I lost that time on the final lap. It was just trying a little bit too much and just not being quite tidy enough [punishes you] – especially around a lap like Barcelona.

“One little oversteer in Turn 1, Turn 2, you kind of already know it’s going to be a tricky rest of the lap. So, it’s still good. I still feel fine. I’m happy with second, especially in Barcelona – it’s not the end of the world.”

One of the reasons for the optimism comes from the two McLaren drivers believing they have machinery that could allow them to clear off into the distance if they get a good start on Sunday, with Norris saying of his car: “We have the best one.”

But that would be to discount Max Verstappen, who was within 0.1s of Norris despite feeling he never had the car to challenge for pole position. And starting from third, with a long run to Turn 1, the Dutchman is not likely to be tentative off the line.



The media named "papaya pair" think they are poised for a Monster of a day chuckle, chuckle...(see the promo bottles on the floor) in Barcelona
but Verstappen says "hold my Red Bull and watch this" while he pretends it is a microphone until he's done with it
and no one notices that he is drinking from the bottom of the can for some reason.........when we see the pull tab.....Clive Rose/Getty Images


“I think it's time to shine in Turn 1,” Verstappen said, half-jokingly. “Make it three-wide for the pictures. Why not? We are three wide on this couch. I don't know. Honestly, I think looking at pace, it will be tough. It’s not all about the start and Turn 1. You need to be good on tires. It’s a long race. A lot can happen. So, I’ll just try to maximize what I got. You can tell I'm holding my own by the placement of my left hand.” At Imola, what Verstappen had was a car that was perfectly capable of winning once he pulled a stunning move to take the lead, also from pole-sitter Piastri. In Jeddah, he also had the pace required in Jeddah but picked up a penalty that cost him track position, and Friday’s race simulations put Red Bull in the mix to be a threat if Verstappen can hit the front. Especially after he kept interrupting the news conference claiming he was a Jeddah Worrier and laughing at his own bad jokes.

There’s also the added aspect of the impact of the stricter front wing flexibility tests. As much as they appear to have had little influence so far, if the car balance is tougher to manage through a race, then tire degradation can be adversely affected and that will really hurt race pace, so if there is to be an impact on any teams it is more likely to be seen on Sunday.

Pizza Boy Piastri knows the start will be a crucial aspect of his hopes of extending his championship lead, but not the only challenge he is likely to face on a hot race day in Barcelona.

“I think trying to get a good start and keep the lead is a good idea probably,” Piastri said. “But there's going to be some strategy involved tomorrow. The long runs yesterday were pretty painful for everyone, I think. So, it's going to be a different race to a lot of the races we've had this year.

“Hopefully, a bit different to last weekend. I think it will be an interesting race still and it's not as simple as take the lead at the start and cruise from there. It's going to be a challenge to manage the tires, timing your stops right. There's going to be a lot going on.”

Whether Piastri handles all of that successfully or not, you know he will get out of the car and reflect on it in the same calm and controlled manner he does every race.

Perhaps unless you call him the Ice Boy or Water Boy and then he places his foot forcefully against your nuts, which you had it coming.......