Oscar Piastri struggled with Lewis Hamilton in Jeddah and couldn’t find a way past the Mercedes – weaknesses of the McLaren became apparent
Oscar Piastri’s race in Jeddah showed the problem areas that McLaren still has with its MCL38. It has already become clear over the course of the weekend that the team is losing a lot of time to its rivals, especially in the DRS areas – in qualifying it was around half a second
This also contributed to the fact that Piastri’s Saturday was not entirely without frustration despite his fourth place. Because in the battle against Lewis Hamilton, Piastri basically had no chance despite the fresher tires.
“I’m not so sure I’d use the word fun – more like frustrating,” he says of the duel against the Mercedes. “It definitely showed some of our weaknesses.”
Hamilton had not come into the pits for a tire change during the safety car period in Jeddah, but had gambled and stayed out on his mediums. However, this made him a brake pad for Piastri, who was unable to find a way past Hamilton until he turned into the pits with 13 laps to go.
“I was very relieved when he pulled out of the way because it wasn’t enough to get past on the straights,” said the Australian.
At one point it looked as if Piastri had cracked the Mercedes, but the McLaren driver cut the first chicane short and had to let the Briton past again. There were basically no more promising attacks
Two problem areas seen
“We are well aware of our limitations,” says team boss Andrea Stella. “And they have shown themselves along with some strengths on this track.”
According to him, these strengths included the first sector, where everyone behind McLaren would lose ground. “In these fast corners with only one steering wheel input, the car works very well,” he says.
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Hamilton defends ✋ Piastri attacks ⚔️
The Briton is hanging onto P5 for nowF1 SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/0sKrU4StmO
– Formula 1 (@F1) March 9, 2024
“But when the corners are long, like the last one, and you have to hold the steering wheel for a long time, the car gives up a bit and we lose a lot of time,” says Stella. This is exactly where Ferrari was strong.
“And the other limitation is that we would like to have more top speed,” he says, addressing the familiar problem. “These two things have really come to the fore on this track. “
Stella praises: calmness Piastri’s strongest quality
Despite this, Piastri was able to beat both Mercedes, whose cars have completely different strengths and weaknesses, but according to Piastri are still on a par. He believes: “Qualifying made the difference.”
“I think Lewis showed that there was a high chance that we would have been stuck behind them all night if we had qualified behind them,” said Piastri. “We still have work to do if we want to overtake them and catch the two teams in front. “
Stella also says that Piastri’s fourth place was a result of the strong qualifying session, where Piastri finished fifth. He praises his protégé for a “very clean and solid race, in which he stayed out of trouble, was fast, but also patient.”
The fact that he did not get past Hamilton did not put him off his stride. “He waited for the race to come to him,” said the team boss, who was “very, very pleased, but not surprised”.
“We know that the potential is very high. And we know that he is very consistent both from a racing and mental point of view. And I think I’ve always said that that aspect of him, the way he just stays calm and makes sure that he uses the full extent of his talent, I think is his strongest attribute. “
