Oscar Piastri, the Australian driver for McLaren, acknowledges that the team needs to make further improvements to compete for consistent top-three results and potentially win races in the next Formula 1 season.
McLaren aims to build on the progress made last year, where they went from struggling to score points to becoming a regular presence at the front of the grid. However, their preparations for the new season were hindered by technical issues during pre-season testing, resulting in fewer completed laps compared to other teams, with only Williams having a worse record.
Despite these setbacks, Piastri remains optimistic that McLaren’s new car, the MCL38, represents an advancement from its predecessor and puts the team in a good position for the start of the season. Piastri expressed satisfaction with the progress made during testing, especially on Friday afternoon, where they were able to complete a significant number of laps.
Although Piastri believes McLaren is in a competitive position, he acknowledges that Red Bull and Ferrari currently have an advantage. He considers Red Bull to be ahead of the pack, while Ferrari also appears strong, albeit to a lesser extent. Piastri recognizes that McLaren still has work to do to close the gap and consistently challenge for podiums and race wins.
In conclusion, Piastri is cautiously optimistic about McLaren’s prospects for the upcoming Formula 1 season. He acknowledges the progress made by the team but emphasizes the need for further improvements to compete with teams like Red Bull and Ferrari.
Lando Norris agrees with Piastri’s assessment of Ferrari, stating in an interview with Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz that McLaren cannot match the lap times of the Italian team in Bahrain. When asked if McLaren could aim for a podium in the first race of the season, Norris firmly replied, “No.” However, he acknowledged that Bahrain has historically been a challenging circuit for McLaren and predicted that Red Bull will maintain a significant advantage. Norris believes that McLaren is making progress with their 2024 car but suggested that they still struggle in low-speed corners. He stated, “We have areas where we perform well and areas where we struggle. I don’t believe we have significantly improved in our weak areas. We still have a lot of work to do, but we have made progress in other areas, and as a team, we are heading in the right direction.”
