Oscar Piastri (McLaren): “Surprised that Ferrari weren’t stronger”

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri moved up from 7th on the grid to 4th place in the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg – narrowly missing out on the podium after a difficult Saturday. It was a strong comeback from the Australian, though this was also down to his rivals’ poor performance.

The disappointment at McLaren following qualifying quickly gave way to confidence ahead of the race: simulations had predicted a better race pace than the speed shown over a single fast lap in qualifying. Consequently, Piastri was able to leave the Ferraris behind in the Grand Prix – narrowly beating Lewis Hamilton in 5th place and comfortably beating Charles Leclerc in 8th.

Ferrari successfully challenged

Piastri said after the race: “It was a very strong afternoon. I was surprised that the Ferraris weren’t stronger. On a personal level, though, I think it was a really good race.” Piastri was able to stay out longer on his tyres and overtake Leclerc on the track. “The fact that we successfully challenged and beat Ferrari is definitely a very positive thing for the team. We got everything out of the car.”

Another advantage during the race: because Piastri had overtaken his team-mate Lando Norris at the start, he subsequently had the advantage of priority at the pit stop as the faster McLaren: Norris had to wait, whilst Piastri was served first.

Improvements following Barcelona

Piastri: “We executed the race well and put a lot of what we’ve learnt over the past few weeks into practice.” Reflecting on the recent race in Barcelona, he said: “Barcelona was quite a struggle. Afterwards, I had quite a few things on my list – things I’d learnt from it and things I wanted to improve. We’ve improved massively since then, given that this race was very similar in many respects.”

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However, there is still work to be done ahead of the next races. This week sees a home race at Silverstone for McLaren and Piastri’s team-mate Norris. Piastri: “We definitely need to find more pace if we want to challenge the top three on a consistent basis. We don’t have any specific weaknesses, but we need to work on our overall performance and grip. We also want to carry this momentum into the next few races.”