McLaren definitely missed their goal at the past race in Qatar, although Oscar Piastri finished on the podium.
As they arrived to Lusail, they had one goal: have a 45-point gap or more over Ferrari and it would allow them to be Constructors’ Champions, their first championship of that kind since 1998.
Despite Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris getting a 1-2 in the Sprint race, the Constructors’ Championship still needs to be claimed by McLaren, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished ahead of the Aussie to keep their hopes of winning that championship alive.
With Norris’ stop-go penalty in the other McLaren in the Grand Prix itself, this did end up benefitting Oscar Piastri, who snatched third place in the race after a good, if not great performance.
Piastri took the time to analyse his race, especially his multiple battles with Charles Leclerc.
“Yeah, it was a tricky race, I think.
“The cars at the front seemed to have very similar pace to each other.
“And it was really, really tough to make the inroads to get into DRS and then far enough into DRS to overtake. So a couple of good moments with Charles out there.
“And yeah, nice to end up on the podium, but not quite the result we’re looking for.”
Norris’ penalty and the fight with Ferrari
He also talked about his teammate Lando Norris’ 10-second penalty that saw the British driver eventually finish P10.
McLaren holds a 21-point lead over Ferrari heading to Abu Dhabi.
“Yeah, I’m not sure what Lando’s penalty was for, but obviously quite a big one.
“So yeah, going to be an exciting end to the year. Hopefully we can be strong, but it’s going to take everything we’ve got to seal the deal.”
Lusail a mega track, says Piastri
He also took the time to analyse conditions this year. As it was a lot cooler compared to last year, times dropped and drivers were not in danger of passing out.
The 23-year-old also praised the circuit itself, a high speed challenge for the most part.
“Definitely. I think just the temperature as well, you know. The track’s a lot faster this year, so it should be tougher, but I think the fact that it’s not a sauna in the car this year is making life a bit easier.
“So, fun race, a mega track. It’s probably the most fun of the whole year around here, so yeah, enjoyed the race just not quite the result.”
Safety Car goes against him
Piastri got a bit unlucky, pitting right before a Safety Car and losing out to Charles Leclerc.
The driver from Melbourne admits a win was always unlikely after the first stint and starting grid spot.
“I mean, yes, but that’s how racing goes sometimes, unfortunately. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don’t. I feel like we’ve had that happen quite a few times this year, but we’ve had our fair share of luck as well.
“So I think the pace was decent, just not quite strong enough in the right places on the track, which made trying to get close pretty tough. Because I think once I had some clean air, the pace was strong.
“Yeah, I think, fighting for the win, given where I started and how the first part of the race panned out was always going to be a challenge, but I’m pretty happy to end up on the podium.”
2024 McLaren not quite as well suited to Qatar
Piastri also mentioned that while the team expected more out of the car this year at Lusail, other teams have made gains in areas where McLaren excelled, while the Woking-based team have a steonger car in all areas now, for example making big gains in low speed.
“Yes and no. I think the track this is very different to last year in terms of the grip level.
“I think our car in certain conditions is quite different to last year as well, and I feel like some of our strengths that we had last year are not really strengths anymore because everybody else has caught up to us and I feel like some of our weaknesses are not really our weaknesses either, and I feel like it’s a much more well-rounded car.
“But I think also maybe the grip level has taken away some of our strengths that we’ve had in the past here. I mean, I always expected it to be tight.
“I didn’t expect it to be necessarily as, you know… I think apart from Max last year, we were very competitive here.
“But I always thought it was going to be pretty tough between the top four teams.”
Abu Dhabi finale
All in all, when the title fight comes to a close in Abu Dhabi next week, Piastri hopes that McLaren will come out on top.
The 2-time Grand Prix winner excepts Ferrari to be stronger in Abu Dhabi but is wary of Mercedes and Red Bull as well.
“Hopefully going well for us.
“I think it will be a track that’s stronger for Ferrari, I would say. I was maybe a little bit surprised at the pace they had today. But I don’t think we’ll be slow next week either. I think it will be a good battle.
“I think the top four teams at the moment are very, very close on their days.
“So yeah, I’m expecting more of the same next week.”
