Oscar Piastri has shown an improvement in his performance in the latest Formula 1 races, but he still does not feel comfortable behind the wheel of McLaren. The Australian believes he is learning to cope better with the MCL40’s difficulties, although he does not expect a quick fix for the car’s problems.
In the Azerbaijan and Malaysia rounds, Piastri managed to identify positive signs. In Baku, he had a good pace at the start of the race, while in Sepang he stood out in the midsection. For him, these moments demonstrate that he is progressing after a sequence of 14 races without a podium, dating back to the Miami GP.
“But I definitely feel that in the last two weekends [in Azerbaijan and Sepang], on a personal level, I’ve been performing much better,” he added. “So I think Malaysia was another good step forward in terms of understanding what I need to do and not having to work so hard to get there, and to get there a little more intuitively and with less effort, which is ultimately where I want to be at this stage of the year.”
A McLaren também enfrenta dificuldades para acompanhar as rivais. Durante a sequência recente de corridas, a equipe perdeu rendimento e chegou a ficar atrás de Red Bull, Mercedes e Ferrari em velocidade. Lando Norris também reclamou do comportamento do carro, afirmando que era difícil de pilotar e exigia muito esforço para responder como esperado.
A última grande atualização da McLaren foi introduzida no GP da Hungria, em julho. Na ocasião, Norris venceu na Hungria e na Holanda, mas não conseguiu transformar a etapa da Espanha em sua terceira vitória em quatro corridas, após ser prejudicado pelo momento de um safety car virtual.
Desde então, a equipe perdeu terreno no campeonato de construtores. Terceira colocada, a McLaren tem apenas sete pontos de vantagem sobre a Red Bull e também viu a Ferrari abrir vantagem na segunda posição.
O chefe da equipe, Andrea Stella, já indicou que novas atualizações devem chegar no fim da temporada. Além de tentar melhorar o desempenho atual, o trabalho também servirá para reunir informações importantes para o desenvolvimento do MCL41, carro para 2027. Piastri não espera uma mudança imediata no cenário:
“I think, in the short term, this is probably the best it’s going to be,” the Australian told the press. “And to basically bring the car a little closer to where I would like it to be, I don’t think we’ll have magical answers this year. The cars themselves are very different. The tires are also quite different, so that isn’t going to change anytime soon.”
Despite the difficulties, Piastri believes he is on the right track to improve his driving: “So I feel that, on a personal level, I am definitely making progress. But it still isn’t as comfortable as I would like.”
