For Piastri, McLaren still need to beware of Red Bull
Oscar Piastri asked McLaren not to take for granted winning the constructor's title at the end of the season. The Australian, finishing third behind Max Verstappen at the Singapore GP, believes that the British team will have to be wary until the end.
McLaren, once again a big winner last weekend. After a successful Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with the victory of Oscar Piastri and the fourth place of Lando Norris, who started fifteenth, the Woking team achieved an excellent result on the Marina Bay track. This time, it is Lando Norris who won , while his teammate secured the last step of the podium. This result allowed McLaren to extend its lead in the constructors’ championship against Red Bull, now with a 41-point gap, reinforced by Sergio Perez’s tenth place.
Performance to maintain until the end of the season.
The former Formula 3 and Formula 2 champion took Max Verstappen as an example. The Dutchman, triple current world champion, has been through tough weeks recently. However, in Singapore, he positioned himself as the second fastest pilot, in a single-seater that has shown signs of progress compared to previous races. This improvement could worry McLaren if it continues in the next races. Piastri, for his part, was satisfied with his result, aware of having optimized his performances during a weekend where he seemed to be struggling.
A good Grand Prix for Piastri after difficult qualifications.
From the free practice sessions, the Australian struggled compared to his teammate, often lagging behind Norris by several tenths. This trend continued in qualifying, where he finished only in fifth place, behind the two Mercedes, while Norris secured pole position. On Sunday, Piastri managed to overtake Russell and Hamilton, but lost too much time behind them to hope to fight for the victory. He therefore believes that third place was the best possible result.
« Saturday was not ideal, but in the race, the goal was to get on the podium. I think losing so much time behind the Mercedes during the first stint meant that it was definitely the best we could do. Of course, I would have preferred to be in the middle [as the winner]. But I think it was a good day to limit the damage. Throughout the weekend, I struggled in practice and I think I took a good step in qualifying. I didn’t execute as well as I should have, but I learned a lot this weekend.
A driver who learns very quickly
For the McLaren driver, this weekend will serve him for the future, as he managed to score 15 points despite his difficulties, demonstrating the consistency he shows on the track.
« Even if the final result was not exactly what I hoped for, we did a good job of maximizing points, especially for the team. It is a huge accumulation of points for us, and I believe I have learned good lessons for next year as well. In the end, I am reasonably satisfied.
With six races remaining, McLaren hopes that the consistency of its two drivers, combined with the reliability of the MCL38, will offer the British team its first constructor’s title since 1998, and why not a driver’s title, which has eluded them since 2008.
