Oscar Piastri, Australian driver for McLaren, believes that his podium at the Monaco Grand Prix demonstrates that McLaren no longer relies on high-speed Formula 1 tracks to be competitive. Last season, McLaren struggled to score points but made a remarkable comeback, becoming a consistent contender during Piastri’s F1 debut. However, their success was mainly at locations with high-speed corners, such as Suzuka and Qatar. The team introduced improvements in Miami that exceeded expectations in terms of low-speed performance. McLaren’s updated MCL38 performed exceptionally well on the narrow streets of Monte Carlo, allowing Piastri to secure his first podium of 2024. With his teammate Lando Norris finishing in fourth place, Piastri is optimistic about McLaren’s prospects for the upcoming races. He believes the team can be competitive regardless of the circuit layout.
Piastri stated: “I think we’ve had three very different circuits in the last three races, and we’ve been competitive at all of them. Miami used to be one of our weaker tracks, but we had a strong weekend there. Imola has always been favorable for us, and we did well there. Our car has never been the strongest in slow corners, but this weekend we were fast again. So, I think we can have confidence no matter where we go. We no longer need to rely on high-speed circuits like we did last year to get results, which is very exciting for us in the future.”
During last weekend, Ferrari narrowly defeated McLaren, with Red Bull facing difficulties and Mercedes making progress. Piastri believes that the grid is as balanced as ever since the introduction of ground effect cars in 2022, with four teams capable of securing pole position. He stated: “I think the competition is incredibly tight, especially this weekend. Going into qualifying, we knew that any of the four teams could secure pole position, something we haven’t seen in a while. So, I believe we can be in the fight every week.”
Although McLaren has strengthened its position in the Constructors’ Championship, it is still 68 points behind Ferrari, who is in second place.
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