McLaren showed a clear margin from the rest of the field at the Australian GP, leading to some drivers calling the F1 championships already, but Oscar Piastri denies McLaren’s dominance will continue at this level throughout the campaign when speaking on Thursday at the Chinese GP.
With a 1-2 in qualifying, McLaren quickly established a lead over the rest of the field once Piastri passed Verstappen on lap 17. Beyond the initial qualifying performance, the Woking-based team also held a significant race pace advantage, their trye degradation being the best of the field.
McLaren were well on their way to take a 1-2 finish before the rain got the better of Oscar Piastri on dry tyres. George Russell was quick to come out after the Australian Grand Prix and talk about how the rest of the season would see McLaren dominate.
“At such an advantage because they can stop development now and go fully on ‘26 as it’s difficult to overcome that gap. If you’ve got a six-tenths advantage at the start of the year, nobody finds six-tenths throughout the course of a year. So McLaren are in a prime position for now and the future.”
When asked ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix if he agreed with Russell’s claims, Oscar Piastri made it clear he saw them as ‘far-fetched’.
“I think one of those statements is pretty far-fetched. I’ll let you decide which one. But, no, I think, you know, clearly our car was very strong in Melbourne. I think there’s no denying that.
“I think we got to a place where it was also handling well. You know, of course we’re racing drivers, we’re never gonna have everything we want, but I think it was clear that in all the conditions in Melbourne, our car was very strong.”
Too early to tell
While Piastri didn’t shy away from the strengths McLaren displayed with the MCL39 on Thursday in his F1 Chinese GP media session, he equally made it clear that it’s the first round of along season and things can change quickly in the world of Formula 1.
Before the big Miami update last year, McLaren’s strongest race came in Melbourne as they finished P3 and P4.
“I think it’s just one race, it’s been a track that’s been competitive for us the last couple of years, even when our car wasn’t as dominant as a Red Bull. So, I think we’ll go to different tracks where we will struggle more. That’s for sure.”
Last season saw Red Bull appear dominant at the beginning of the season, with Verstappen winning four of the opening five rounds. But as upgrades came across the grid the RB20 fell down the pecking order and the team finished P3 in the standings.
McLaren have been cautious not to overplay their hand.
“So, if he [Russell] wants to write off his season after the first weekend, then I’ll let him do that. But I think we’re very aware that Melbourne was an exceptional weekend rather than what we’re expecting to be the norm.”
With Shanghai presenting contrasting conditions from Australia, the order of the grid behind McLaren will once again be a mystery to both the teams and fans. Shanghai also adds the added chaos of a Sprint weekend, giving teams less time to figure out their set-ups ahead of the first qualifying session on Friday afternoon.
