Oscar Piastri says his struggle to match McLaren teammate Lando Norris in Barcelona “doesn’t make full sense.” Piastri failed to set a lap time in Q3 after a track limits issue and an off-track moment. He then moved up from 10th to ninth on the grid thanks to a penalty for Sergio Perez.
In the race, he passed Esteban Ocon at the start. However, he then lost time behind Pierre Gasly before ultimately making his way through to finish seventh, over 30 seconds behind runner-up Norris.
“I think there was obviously some optimism that if we could get through the Alpines quickly, then maybe be in the fight with Mercedes and Ferrari,” he said when asked about his race.
“But ultimately, I didn’t get through Gasly quick enough. But then I think after that the pace was maybe a bit better towards the end of the race compared to Carlos [Sainz], but just a bit of a difficult day.
“Some hints and potential ideas on why it was such a big struggle. But I think the magnitude of it doesn’t make full sense at the moment. So just need to try and understand why it’s been such a big struggle this weekend.
“From the first lap of Friday, it’s been difficult. So, yeah, it’s not really got much better through the weekend. I think the second half of the race was maybe a bit more positive.”
Piastri: Never experienced this in my career before
Piastri said that contrasted with other recent events where he was comfortable from the start.
“It’s been a bit unusual how much we’ve struggled on my side this weekend,” he said.
“The last sort of four or five weekends, we’ve been able to hit the ground running very well and just build from there.
“And this weekend, it’s just not been happening for whatever reason, apart from the odd lap here or there that’s felt like I’ve driven it very well with, just not the same ease of lap time.
“I think the fact that Lando has been quick at a very different circuit to the last three or four, much more high-speed, not as bumpy, and almost won the race, I think is very encouraging for the team. Just obviously, on my side, I need to unlock that pace.”
Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, in his cockpit
He added: “I would say it’s the first weekend where it’s been such a consistent struggle the whole way through.
“In some weekends last year, the race was difficult, but qualifying was not bad. This weekend, it’s just been a struggle the whole way through, even through practice.
“It’s just not been happening. Obviously, just need to understand why it’s been the case. I tried a fair few different things with set-up, but I’ve just not had much confidence in the car, which is really the first time I’ve had that in my F1 career.
“We’ve tried a lot, both with the car and with myself. Some of the corners, I would say, explainable. Others haven’t.
“And some of the corners there, I’ve been told I’ve driven them well, have been worse than the corners where I know I’ve messed them up.
“Which when you’re having qualifying laps like that, it just doesn’t fill you with much confidence. So, just need to understand why that was the case this weekend.”
