Oscar Piastri claims McLaren no longer ‘enjoys’ advantage on high-speed circuits

McLaren has faced issues on high-speed circuits in the 2024 F1 season.

Oscar Piastri claims McLaren no longer ‘enjoys’ advantage on high-speed circuits

Oscar piastri (via imago)

McLaren has showcased a much better start to the 2024 season as compared to the early-season struggles in 2023. Woking is currently much above Mercedes and has occupied the third spot in the constructors’ championship. However, Oscar Piastri feels that the team isn’t reaping maximum benefits from the high-speed circuits anymore.

The high-speed circuit of the Japanese GP was did not give McLaren a big advantage compared to the competition. The MCL38 was much slower than what the team had expected. Hence, this led to the team missing out on crucial points and even a podium finish. Hence, Oscar Piastri declared that the last few races made it clear that McLaren wasn’t exceptionally well in the high-speed circuits.

What’s become clear in the last few races is that they’re [high-speed circuits] not an outlier in being good just for us anymore.

Oscar Piastri said, as reported by racingnews365.com.
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Piastri recalled McLaren’s performance in the previous season and the ‘advantage’ at high-speed circuits back then. However, this season was different from the previous season. Hence, the team has struggled to perform well in the high-speed circuits. Although, this has not impacted the team’s performance so far.

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So, let’s say maybe the advantage we enjoyed at some of the high-speed circuits last year, I don’t think we enjoy as much as anymore.

Oscar Piastri noted.

Oscar Piastri admits Ferrari made ‘steps forward’ in high-speed performance

Besides McLaren, Ferrari has been performing much better than their 2023 performances. Hence, the Australian driver showered praises on the Italian constructor. McLaren is trailing behind Maranello by 51 points in the constructors’ championship. Hence, Woking would need to bring in in-season upgrades to close in on its gap to the Scuderia.

I think Ferrari have certainly made steps forward in their high-speed performance.
Oscar Piastri explained.
Oscar Piastri
Oscar Piastri (via IMAGO)

Apart from this, Piastri reckoned that Red Bull was ‘obviously’ still strong as the ground-effect era has revealed the strong suit from them. Additionally, the Australian mentioned that Aston Martin also made great improvements in the high-speed performance. Hence, the competition between the top five teams might get tighter down the season.

Red Bull, obviously, are still strong. Aston Martin have made step forward in the high-speed performance.
Oscar Piastri mentioned.

McLaren will aim to score a podium finish, if not the race victory at the upcoming sprint weekend of the Chinese GP. The team has only one practice session to finalize a setup for the challenger. Additionally, the circuit is being run for the first time in five years, and Piastri would be making his debut on the Shanghai track.

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