Throughout the weekend in Monaco, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was consistently in the mix.
Oscar Piastri believes McLaren can be in the hunt for victory at every race for the rest of the season, given they have performed at high levels at “three very different circuits” in the past three rounds.
Piastri crossed the line behind Charles Leclerc to secure a podium finish at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, showcasing the team’s remarkable improvement following a series of upgrades introduced at last season’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri: McLaren ‘can be confident wherever we go’
Additional reporting by Sam Cooper
Despite transitioning to a new chassis this season, the MCL38, McLaren has successfully adhered to their development plan and surpassed both Mercedes and Aston Martin in the competitive hierarchy. Lando Norris achieved a remarkable milestone by claiming victory in his inaugural Grand Prix in Miami earlier this month.
But what is encouraging Piastri more is that McLaren have been competitive on tracks with different profiles, with Miami, Imola and Monaco all presenting different challenges for the drivers and cars.
He highlighted how the team, which had been one of the slowest cars in Miami last season, managed to win the race this time. The fact that they were able to catch up with the front-runners is promising for their future prospects.
When asked if he thinks McLaren can be competitive and fight for wins consistently throughout the rest of the year, Piastri told the media, including PlanetF1.com, that he believes so.
In my opinion, we have encountered three distinct circuits in the last three races, and we have performed well in each of them.
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Before this year, Miami was likely one of the circuits where we performed poorly. However, Imola has consistently been favorable to us. We had a highly impressive weekend there, and now, let’s just say our car has never excelled in slow corners. Surprisingly, this weekend we have been incredibly fast once again.
I believe our confidence can thrive no matter our destination. It’s a thrilling prospect that we no longer have to depend solely on the high-speed circuits, as we did last year, to achieve our desired outcomes.
In my opinion, the pecking order is currently extremely tight, particularly during this weekend.
Before the qualifying session, we believed that any of the four teams had a chance to secure pole position, which is something we haven’t been able to say in quite some time.
I believe we have the potential to actively participate in the fight every weekend.
Piastri is currently sixth in the Drivers’ Championship after his Monaco Grand Prix podium, with McLaren third in the Constructors’ standings on 184 points – 68 points behind second-placed Ferrari and 92 behind leaders Red Bull.
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