After a good qualification, the Grand Prix of Spain came as a disappointment for Oscar Piastri. The McLaren driver eventually crossed the line in thirteenth and had a very long afternoon in Barcelona. As with Haas, McLaren struggles with race pace on Sunday, while qualifying often goes well.
McLaren surprised on the Saturday of the race weekend in Barcelona. Lando Norris was the biggest surprise, the Brit clocked third fastest while Piastri took P10. That eventually became P9 because of Pierre Gasly’s grid penalty. Piastri did not count himself rich for the race anyway, and his suspicions turned out to be true. “It was a long afternoon,” says Piastri in conversation with the Dutch branch of Motorsport.com. “I didn’t have the pace to get anything out of it. My opening round wasn’t too good either. That didn’t help, but we wouldn’t have had the speed to stay in the top ten anyway,” said the Australian.
“We need to find out why we struggled so much compared to Saturday. We already had a good idea of ​​what it could be. All in all it was a disappointing day.’ The 22-year-old emphasizes that the qualifying results were also surprising. ‘We didn’t expect that. Normally we wouldn’t have been able to get those positions,” says Piastri. “When the temperatures drop, we get the tires working better, that was also the case in Monaco. We need to see if we can make our lives a little better on Sundays. It seems that the other teams can go a bit faster when they want to, but then we fall back a bit.’
Canada still unknown territory for Piastri: “I’m looking forward to getting to know the circuit”
In two weeks the Formula 1 circus will descend on Canada. The McLaren driver has not yet driven there. ‘On the simulator, yes’, Piastri points out. “It looks like a cool circuit, a long straight and plenty of overtaking opportunities. There are also a number of fast chicanes. I look forward to getting to know the circuit. It’s actually a street circuit, considering the walls are so close. You have to think about that,’ says Piastri.
