Piastri isn’t too optimistic about McLaren’s chances: “We definitely won’t be the team to beat”

Written by Bo Helmus

Piastri has prepared himself for the hot race on Sunday | Credit: Formula One

Oscar Piastri is having a season with ups and downs. He wasn’t able to start the first two races, and almost won the first race he did start. Where he was leading the championship at this time last year, he is now only in sixth place. 

Piastri got a disappointing fifth place in Spain. He said that the team knows where to improve: “I think we’ve got a good idea why [last race wasn’t going the way McLaren wanted] and a good plan on how to not repeat that.”

Rough start

Unfortunately for the 25-year-old, Barcelona was not a one-off bad performance. 2026 is not Piastri’s season yet: “Very up and down, clearly. I think probably a bit more down than it has been up, unfortunately. I think there have been glimpses of good pace. I think there’s been races where we’ve taken advantage of the situations around us and maximised things.”

McLaren is experiencing a season full of ups and downs | Credit: Formula One

“There’s definitely been situations where we haven’t, whether it be through mistakes from drivers, whether it be reliability issues, whatever it might be. Yeah, there’s also been plenty of those moments. I think for us as a team, we know that we’re lacking performance, and I think Canada in the race and especially Monaco kind of highlighted where some of our struggles lie, which we’re trying to fix.

“But we have a bit of a deficit everywhere. We don’t really have any clear strengths where we’re really strong, but we’re not terribly bad anywhere either. So in some ways that’s good, in some ways that’s bad. But yeah, to catch Mercedes and we’ll see whether Ferrari maintain their form as well, we need to put some new bits on the car, we need to make it faster, and we need to do it quicker than everyone else, because at this point in the year and this point of the regs, everybody’s coming with upgrades quickly. So we know we need to improve.”

Getting closer

His main goal this week is to take the challenge to the other teams: “I think for us as a team here, you know, Ferrari took a good step forward in Barcelona, Mercedes is still the benchmark as well, and I’m hearing along the grapevine that Red Bull have got some big things as well. So, it’s not going to be easy for us.”

The Papaya’s have performed well in Austria the last few years. That does not give Piastri too much hope: “Yes, it has been a good track for us in the past, but there’s no illusion for us that we’re suddenly going to be amazing here and the team to beat. We’re definitely not going to be.

The McLarens scored first and second place in Austria last time | Credit: Formula One

“So yeah, hopefully we can get close and kind of be in the position that we have been in at certain points, where we can capitalise on dramas for others. But yeah, I think to be able to do it on merit or pure pace is going to be a bit of stretch. But I’d like to be happily surprised.”

High temperatures

The weather forecast is not great for a race. Temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius are expected on Sunday. Piastri talks about the struggles that come with the heat: “When you’ve got no air coming in, that’s when it’s the worst. I haven’t spent any time in a sauna, no. 

“But I’ve got a few portable heaters and a small bathroom and an exercise bike. So yeah, you can cause yourself a lot of discomfort, a lot of pain by doing that [to prepare yourself for a warm race]. So, I do that for the benefit of my performance. Not for pleasure, that’s for sure.”

Some drivers use a cooling jacket. The Australian is still in doubt if he will wear it: “I think probably yes. I used it a couple of times last year. I mean, there’s obviously the risk if it goes wrong and if it fails, then yeah, it’s worse than not wearing it.

The drivers can choose to wear a cooling jacket to stay cool during the race | Credit: Formula One

“But I think if you get the system working well, then it can help a bit. It’s not a complete game changer but when I used it last year, it was okay. There are definitely some things that are not perfect with it, but at the end of the day it’s personal preference. We have to add the weight in the car anyway, so if you can get it to work and it cools you down a little bit, then sure.”

Warm races

The last time the drivers raced in such extreme temperatures was Miami. McLaren got a double podium there. Piastri is not convinced they will repeat these results in Austria:  “I think it will be tough. I think Ferrari obviously brought quite a few upgrades in Barcelona. I think Mercedes as well are still the benchmark, maybe not as far ahead in those conditions, but still the benchmark.

“Things are changing so quickly. Everyone is learning about their cars a lot every time we drive. Everyone’s changing their cars a lot. So difficult to say. I think maybe we can get close again, but again, we’re kind of relying at the moment on the others getting it a bit wrong or having things go our way rather than being the ones on the front foot and able to set the pace.”

Will the McLarens be able to repeat their double podium in Austria? | Credit: Formula One

Turnaround

Even though McLaren has had some disappointing results in the last few races, Piastri mentions that this doesn’t mean much: “I mean, yeah, the odds are definitely stacked against us for sure. But I think last year was a pretty good showcase of how quickly things can change. We’ve still got a long way to go in the season.

“Yes, we’re very conscious that we need to improve things and for things to change for us, but I don’t think we should count ourselves out. Yes, we’ve got to do a lot of hard work. Yes, we’ll need a few things to go our way. But we’ve seen reliability issues for everybody across the board and things can change very quickly. 

“But I think the clear part in all of that is if the performance of our car and the competitive order doesn’t change, then yes, we’re not going to win. But if we can improve things dramatically like we have done in the last few seasons, then I think anything is still possible.”