Can McLaren compete for the world championship title again this year? After the test drives, Oscar Piastri admits that they don’t yet know where they really stand.
During testing in Bahrain, Formula 1 is discussing Mercedes’ new power unit, fierce criticism from Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, and Aston Martin’s crisis. The performance of McLaren, which started the new season as defending champion, has hardly been the focus of attention so far.
Perhaps this is because there is no answer yet. “I don’t know where we stand in the pecking order,” ponders McLaren driver Oscar Piastri himself. “I think it looks a bit like the top four teams are still the top four teams, but I don’t know exactly where we fit within that group at the moment.”
But: “I definitely don’t think it will be the Australian Grand Prix we had last year—unfortunately,” adds the Australian. Last year, McLaren dominated the season opener until a rain shower led to chaos and a costly mistake by Piastri.
Instead of a podium finish, the McLaren driver ended up in ninth place. “Hopefully it will be a little different in terms of the result,” he adds with a smile. “In any case, we won’t come out with the performance we had in Melbourne last year.”
A lot can happen before the first race
On the other hand, a lot could still change before the season starts in two weeks. “There are so many things that all the teams still need to sort out and get right,” warns the 24-year-old. “The difference between right and wrong isn’t a few hundredths or even a few tenths, but significant.”
“If things really go wrong, it can make more than half a second.” Piastri is therefore reluctant to make any predictions about the current balance of power after the first test drives in Bahrain. “I think everyone still has a lot to sort out.”
McLaren “probably doesn’t even know how fast we actually are,” adds the Australian. “We don’t know which problems are simply inherent in the system and cannot be fixed. We don’t know which problems we can solve tomorrow, which ones by the first race. And I think all eleven teams will have similar thoughts.”
Piastri: “The cars are definitely different”
However, Piastri is reluctant to criticize the new regulations. “The cars are definitely different, that’s for sure,” he says diplomatically. “I think the slow corners probably feel similar or maybe even a little better because the car is a little lighter.”
“But the performance in fast corners, in terms of downforce, is significantly lower compared to last year. We’ve learned a lot this week about how to get the most out of the power unit. It’s definitely unfamiliar, but it’s a new challenge for everyone.”
