McLaren ‘Need to Work on the Race Pace’ after Disappointing Spanish GP – Oscar Piastri

Oscar Piastri lamented the pace of the McLaren F1 Team during the Spanish Grand Prix, with the Australian unable to capitalise on a top ten start to bring home points.

Piastri had started ninth on the grid at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya only to fall back through the pack under racing conditions, with the rookie finishing only thirteenth at the chequered flag.

Despite the lack of points, Piastri says there were still positives to take away from Spain, particularly after their Qualifying display, but it is important for the Woking-based outfit to solve the problems they faced on race day if they are to contend for points in the Canadian Grand Prix.

“It was a disappointing afternoon,” said Piastri.  “Our pace in quali didn’t translate to the race, so it was tough.

“But it’s important we focus on taking the positives from Saturday’s quali result where our one-lap pace looked very strong. We now just need to work on the race pace as we head to Canada in two weeks’ time.”

“I don’t think we would have finished in the points anyway” – Lando Norris

Team-mate Lando Norris had been one of the stars of Qualifying on Saturday having set the third fastest time, but his race unravelled at turn one on lap one after taking damage to his front wing.

Norris made contact with the rear of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team’s Lewis Hamilton after misjudging the pace of the cars checking up in front of him, and the subsequent pit stop for a replacement front wing left him at the back of the pack.

Despite managing to finish seventeenth overall come the end of the day, Norris said it was just not his day, although he felt he would not have scored points on Sunday even if he had not made contact with Hamilton.

“Today we had a difficult afternoon,” said Norris.  “We just didn’t have the pace, compared to what we had yesterday, which is more or less what we expected, so it was difficult for us.

“At the start I didn’t see the Red Bull go off track, misjudged how much the cars in front were going to check up and I just clipped the front wing. It was the smallest of touches, but it cost us a lot, although I don’t think we would have finished in the points anyway.

“It was a difficult day for us as a team, but we’ll keep working hard to try to improve.”

Lando Norris ended only seventeenth after first lap contact with Lewis Hamilton – Credit: McLaren F1 Team