Oscar Piastri sheds light on the extraordinary efforts behind McLaren’s performance turnaround

Oscar Piastri achieved his career-best Formula One result with an impressive P4 finish at Silverstone.

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri (Image credit: Speedcafe.com)

Oscar Piastri has made impressive strides with McLaren this season, showcasing notable improvement. Despite being a rookie, his performance in the British Grand Prix was outstanding. During qualifying, the Australian secured an impressive P3 position, trailing only his teammate Lando Norris. Piastri maintained a strong pace throughout the race and ultimately achieved an impressive P4 finish.

However, according to Speedcafe.com, Oscar Piastri mentioned that the old MCL60 could perform exceptionally well over one lap. However, he noted a recurring trend of moving backward on Sundays. He further stated that during the Silverstone race, their performance on Sunday matched their speed on Saturday, which was an improvement for the team. The rookie acknowledged the team’s commendable efforts in transforming the car mid-season.

“Even with the old car, when the conditions were right for us, we could be mega over one lap, but we always kind of went backward on Sundays,” Piastri said. “At Silverstone, we were just as quick on Sunday as we were on Saturday,” he explained. “Full credit to the team for what they’ve managed to do,” he stated.

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Technical restructuring sparks McLaren’s mid-season turnaround

McLaren had a disappointing start to the 2023 season. They admitted that their launch-spec car was not as fast as desired. However, the team underwent a technical restructure and implemented a strong development plan for the MCL60. This turnaround allowed Lando Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri to go from backmarkers to competitive contenders at the front of the grid.

Oscar Piastri mentioned that they experienced significant inconsistency at the beginning of the year. Heavily relying on factors like track layouts and Tarmac for performance. He then commented on the recent upgrades, noting that they have provided a substantial improvement in their performance over one lap. However, the most exciting aspect, according to Oscar, is the tremendous progress they have made on Sundays.

"Someone will eventually catch Max!" ?

McLaren Chief Executive Zak Brown has his say on the season so far… pic.twitter.com/RtuKV9bW10
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“We were very inconsistent at the start of the year, very dependent on track layouts, Tarmac,” the Australian said. “Now, with these upgrades, they’ve been a good step forward over one lap, but clearly, on Sundays, we’ve made a massive step forward,” he continued.

Rookie driver Oscar Piastri sits in P11 in the drivers’ standings with 17 points. Meanwhile, teammate Lando Norris’ 42 points put him in ninth place in the championship. The recent upturn in form has helped McLaren move to P5 above Alpine in the constructors’ standings.