Oscar Piastri, a driver from Australia, is urging McLaren to understand the reasons behind the inconsistent performances of their MCL38 car in the 2024 Formula 1 season. Despite a strong start, with two podiums secured by Lando Norris, McLaren has struggled to maintain consistent form. While they underperformed in Suzuka, they achieved their best result in China, surprising with a second place. Piastri believes it is crucial for McLaren to address these inconsistencies in order to compete with Ferrari for second place.
“We need to understand the reasons behind our variable performance,” Piastri stated in an interview with Autosport. “We have some ideas, but we need to ensure our assumptions are accurate. It is encouraging to see Lando finish second on a track where we expected to struggle. With new parts coming to the car, it is a promising sign for the future.”
McLaren’s performance does not seem to be related to the track layout, as they have excelled on some days and struggled on others. Piastri points out that races where they expected to be strong, like in Japan, ended up being their weakest, while races where they expected to struggle, like in China, became their strongest. Understanding the reasons behind these inconsistencies is crucial for McLaren’s progress.
Piastri acknowledges that performance variations can be frustrating, but he also finds encouragement in achieving positive results when expectations are low. “Being on a high when you expect to be on a low is very encouraging,” he said. McLaren’s focus now is on fully understanding the reasons behind the performance variations and making necessary improvements.
The McLaren team plans to introduce a significant upgrade package at the upcoming Miami Grand Prix. Team director, Andrea Stella, revealed that this upgrade is expected to be a substantial breakthrough for the team.
