F1 News: Oscar Piastri On McLaren MCL38 - "Towards The Front Of The Grid"
After last week's pre-season testing, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri revealed that the 2024 car, the McLaren MCL38, belongs at the front of the F1 grid, despite going through a few minor technical challenges with the car.
Key Takeaways:
- Despite facing minor technical challenges, McLaren's Oscar Piastri is confident that the 2024 car, the McLaren MCL38, belongs at the front of the F1 grid.
- Both Lando Norris and Piastri noted Red Bull's RB20's significant and consistent pace during testing, with their car exhibiting better tire wear, indicating potential dominance by Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in Grand Prix races.
- Red Bull's RB20, featuring a redesigned body compared to its dominant predecessor, the RB19, remains the team to beat, according to Piastri, who acknowledged their comfortable advantage in pre-season testing.
Both drivers, Lando Norris and Piastri, were unable to complete the full testing session. However, they observed that Red Bull's RB20 maintained a significant and consistent pace. Moreover, their car exhibited better tire wear, indicating the potential for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez to establish a significant lead during Grand Prix races this year.
McLaren Press Image
The RB20 serves as an ominous warning for all involved, featuring significantly altered bodywork compared to its predecessor, the RB19, which dominated last season. Undoubtedly, the new design represents an improvement.
Explaining his views about Red Bull's performance during pre-season testing, Piastri said:
"They don't look slow, put it that way.
"On day one, Max looked very, very strong, and Sergio [Perez, on the final day] certainly looked a bit more comfortable than he was.
"They are the team to beat. How much their advantage is, I'm not quite sure, but it's probably enough...yeah, it is enough of an advantage to be comfortable.
"For everyone else, I'm not sure, but I think Red Bull is definitely still the favourite."
Nevertheless, even with the minor issues McLaren faced with its new car, Piastri expresses confidence that the car deserves to be positioned at the forefront of the grid for the upcoming Grand Prix in Bahrain. He stated:
"I'd like to think that we're somewhere towards the front of the grid.
"I certainly don't feel at the moment we're in a position to challenge Red Bull. I'm not sure anyone on the grid particularly feels that way at the moment.
"But I think we're somewhere towards the front. Without jumping to very early conclusions, just with the past results around Bahrain specifically, and the handling limitations we've had in the past, it is not, on paper, a great circuit for us.
"It is pretty unique compared to the rest of the season, with the Tarmac very different to a lot of places we go to now, so I'd expect it to still chop and change quite a lot, depending on the circuit characteristics.
"But it's very hard to get a read on where everyone else sits at the moment. I think the only pretty clear conclusion from everyone is that Red Bull looks strong."
