Oscar Piastri has been very impressive since he joined Formula 1 at McLaren ahead of the 2023 season while battling his teammate Lando Norris.
The Australian driver has been ice-cool over his time racing at the highest level, while McLaren have improved.
PIastri took his first Grand Prix victory this season in Hungary, a momentous day in his career amid an amateurish team orders saga at McLaren.
The margins are so fine at the front of the field in Formula 1 that the smallest errors can make a difference. Piastri took his second win in Azerbaijan while defending from Charles Leclerc.
He has since struggled for form and lacked the raw speed of his teammate Norris in the last few rounds of the year.
Piastri’s race engineer, Tom Stallard, explained that there have been multiple reasons as to why his driver hasn’t hit the headlines since Azerbaijan.
Oscar Piastri has struggled with qualifying and race pace at McLaren
McLaren have struggled as a whole over the last two rounds in particular, as Norris made errors in Brazil that all but ended his championship hopes.
Piastri had a difficult weekend last time out at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, finishing in seventh place behind his teammate at the chequered flag.
The race pace is absolutely critical over a Grand Prix distance to keep consistent over a stint, but it can be tricky to remain at a high level.
Qualifying also offers unique challenges as the Pirelli tyres can be difficult to get the most out of due to a narrow operating window.
Piastri missed his grid box in Las Vegas, which cost him a five-second time penalty and valuable points in the world championship.
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Stallard explained to te F1 Nation podcast that there hasn’t been a recurring issue for the Australian but a series of different issues.
He said: “We’ve not had the headline result we’ve seen in Baku. And there’s been for different reasons each time rather than a consistent problem, let’s say.
“Sometimes it’s been from not quite putting qualifying together and having to start further back, like in Mexico. Sometimes it’s been from struggling to extract the very best out of the car and the tyres during the race. We’ve analysed and learned from that each time.
“I don’t think that there’s been some sort of backwards step or whatever. I think it’s a bit like our team as a whole in the last two races have not delivered the results we hoped we would deliver.”
Oscar Piastri may be heading into the Qatar Grand Prix with confidence
Piastri has suffered a few difficulties over the past couple of rounds but might be heading into this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix with confidence.
The McLaren driver took victory in the Sprint last year amid very hot conditions, which was a step in the right direction for him.
The high-speed turns may suit McLaren as they finished in second and third place behind the race winner Max Verstappen in the Grand Prix.
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 57 | 1:27:39.168 | 26 |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 57 | +4.833s | 18 |
| 3 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 57 | +5.969s | 15 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 57 | +34.119s | 12 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 57 | +38.976s | 10 |
A positive result for Piastri and his teammate Norris may put them on the verge of McLaren’s first Constructors’ Championship since 1998.
They hold a 24-point lead over their nearest rivals Ferrari but can’t afford any significant errors in the final couple of events.
