McLaren have announced themselves as the early team to beat this Formula 1 season after an impressive showing in Melbourne.
The Australian Grand Prix hosted F1’s season opener for the first time since 2019 and McLaren star Lando Norris was the man standing on the top step of the podium.
He should have been joined by Oscar Piastri in the top three and the Australian would have fancied his chances of winning the race despite falling behind Max Verstappen on the opening lap.
Piastri was briefly subject to McLaren team orders and by the time he was allowed to race Norris, he was too far behind his teammate.
The turning point in the race was when a downpour started on lap 44 and both McLaren drivers slipped off the road but Piastri was the driver who got beached on the grass and could only recover to P9.
Helmut Marko was reflecting on the race after Red Bull’s star driver Verstappen finished second and Liam Lawson was among the rookies to fail to reach the chequered flag.
He believes he’s identified a weakness in Piastri that Verstappen can exploit even if McLaren have a pace advantage.
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Helmut Marko questions Oscar Piastri’s ability to handle pressure after the Australian Grand Prix
Marko was asked by Austrian broadcaster ORF what Red Bull have to do to catch McLaren and he explained: “As I said, the tyres have to come in during the warm-up phase and they have to last longer.
“Overall, the car has to be easier to balance and of course that won’t be possible immediately.
“We have to wait for three to five races. We have a development in the pipeline, but we said that it takes time.”
It was then put to Marko that his drivers can’t afford to make mistakes like Piastri did in Australia and he continued: “Not only that, he [Verstappen] wasn’t far away from the spin.
“That shows that if you put pressure on him, it’s possible. But as I said, they are two very strong drivers and the car is almost perfect.
“But after one of 24 races this year, we haven’t put our hats on it yet.”
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Oscar Piastri predicted to bounce back after his Australian Grand Prix spin
It would be very harsh to criticise Piastri for his mistake given Norris also flew off the track in front of him.
He had driven brilliantly up to that point and should have ended Australia’s long wait for a home driver to finish on the podium.
Determination in the face of despair 💪🤩 @OscarPiastri#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/tAD7MQer9Y
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 17, 2025
Damon Hill has backed Piastri to bounce back and challenge Norris but he’s already 23 points behind his teammate at this early stage of the drivers’ championship.
The 23-year-old might be slightly concerned that he’s already been subject to team orders during the first Grand Prix of the season.
McLaren have to prioritise the constructors’ championship as that’s what their prize money is decided by, but both drivers will have one eye on another prize this year.
Piastri has to make sure that his early error doesn’t see him demoted to McLaren’s number two spot earlier than he would like.
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