McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is pleased with his race performance at the Formula 1 opener in Bahrain, but is concerned about the tires in Australia and Japan
Despite a strong rookie season in 2023, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri has made tire management a priority. The young Australian often found it easier to keep up with his teammate Lando Norris in qualifying than in the Grands Prix, as Piastri pushed the tires quite hard and was set back by wear over longer stints
In the first race of the new season in Bahrain, the 22-year-old showed that he is also a force to be reckoned with in the 2024 races. Piastri finished eighth, 7.5 seconds behind Norris, to score four points and, according to the tire wear data we received from our technology partner PACETEQ, Piastri was the better McLaren driver in this discipline.
“Honestly, it was a strong race for me,” he says. “I think that last year I generally struggled a bit more on tracks like this, where the tires degrade a lot, don’t have much grip and you really push the rear tires. And I think I was on a par with Lando in Bahrain and I’m really happy with that.”
“So for me it was a good step forward. Of course, I have to keep doing that. And at every circuit there will be different limitations, but I think this was a positive start to something I wanted to tackle last year. “
Piastri: Japan and Australia will provide clarity
In Jeddah, tire management will play a lesser role anyway due to the super-slick asphalt, but with the races in Japan and China coming up soon, with many fast and medium-fast corners, Piastri’s ability to handle the tires will be put to the test again
When asked what he expects from himself in the next races to see a real improvement on last year, he says: “Actually, it’s just about a few places. I mean, it’s obviously very different here. There are not so many slow corners, there are a lot more high-speed corners. So the tire characteristics and the tire management you need are completely different.”
“I feel like I struggled a bit more in Melbourne last year and in Japan – even though I was on the podium – the gap was quite big. So I think there will be a series of races pretty quickly. But it will be spread out over the year. “
