McLaren’s Australian driver Oscar Piastri has expressed some pessimism regarding his team’s chances at the next Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix. He anticipates that the British team will face a considerable challenge in competing directly with rivals such as Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull on the Red Bull Ring circuit.
McLaren, despite a history of achievements, including world championships, has had a difficult start in the current era of Formula 1. The team constantly finds itself at a disadvantage against Mercedes, often surpassed by Ferrari and, on several occasions, also behind Red Bull, the result of a combination of less competitiveness and technical and mechanical failures of the MCL40 car. This scenario reflects the intense development battle in the category, where constant evolution is crucial to staying at the top.
Piastri’s statements were made during the pre-event press conference in Austria, where he highlighted the opponents’ progress. “Ferrari showed a significant advance in Barcelona. Mercedes remains a reference point. Furthermore, I have heard rumors that Red Bull also plans to implement important updates to its car. Therefore, our task will not be simple,” explained the driver.
Piastri made it clear that McLaren is under no illusions about the possibility of a sudden improvement. “We don’t have the expectation that, suddenly, we will be unbelievable here. And, certainly, we won’t be the team to beat. So, yes, I hope that we can close the gap and return to the level we have already reached, taking advantage of any mistakes made by other teams”, he stated.
The young Australian concluded his remarks by acknowledging the difficulty of overcoming opponents through pure speed alone. “However, I believe that achieving a good result on merit or pure speed will be a bit complicated, although I would love to have a pleasant surprise”, added Piastri.
For this weekend, eyes will be on the McLaren MC40, especially on Friday. There is considerable expectation that the car will feature a new experimental rear wing during free practice, a common move in the sport to collect data and plan future upgrades.
Asked if he or his teammate, Lando Norris, would use the new component and if there was a chance of it being used in the race, Piastri was direct in his answer. “No, we’re not going to use it in the race. I think Lando will test it in his car tomorrow, and it’s just for testing purposes,” he clarified.
The driver emphasized that the part is not yet ready to be used in racing conditions. “At the moment, it is not fit for the race, and, obviously, we have seen several creative solutions, which, of course, are not without challenges. So, it will not be used in the race, but it will be valuable to test it”, concluded Piastri, reinforcing that the focus is on long-term development, and not an immediate solution for the Austrian GP.