Oscar Piastri was surprised how much he struggled in F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP to finish outside Top 5, as he notes that to find the extra tenth he put the car in an uncomfortable place.
McLaren started off the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP on a much better note on Friday, with both Piastri and Lando Norris offering positive comments. However, as the weekend progressed, their rivals picked up their pace and in qualifying, they were left behind.
While Norris still managed to put the car in fourth, Piastri was only seventh. In the race as well, the Australian couldn’t really challenge Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in front. He gained a place after Isack Hadjar made a slow start, but he lost out to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc later on.
Problem galore for Piastri in F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP
Piastri struggled with grip and high degradation. He expected issues, but the extent surprised him, as he hopes to get some answers in post-race analysis. “No, not really, I was trying a lot of different things and running into a lot of different problems,” he said in the print media pen at F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP.
“So I think, just struggling a lot with grip, tyre life obviously. So I don’t have any answers at the moment. I’m hoping to get some answers later, but it was a surprise to struggle so much. There was a few laps here and there that felt a little bit better, but that normally came at a price a few laps later.
“So not in it at all. All I can hope that we learn why it was so difficult to do that. Up to the point, it was still reasonable, but obviously not going to be able to do that,” summed up Piastri.
When asked if McLaren ran into similar troubles on Friday, the Australian says they didn’t do enough laps.
Friday running didn’t give whole picture
They can only run half the length of a stint and they didn’t face as many issues as they eventually did in the F1 Grand Prix. Also, he felt the conditions were cooler than on Sunday, which made his life much more difficult. “No, not really, but the conditions were a bit cooler on Friday, and also the long runs we did were much, much shorter,” said Piastri.
“They were probably half the length of the first stint we did, so at that point you’re not going to learn that much. It was probably about where my race was okay until. From that point onwards it was [not] good,” summed up Piastri, who had high praise for the step taken by Ferrari.
Even though McLaren were closer to Ferrari or Mercedes in F1 qualifying, the race showed a different picture. While Norris managed to stay with Mercedes, it was still difficult to catch Ferrari. In the urge to push and find the extra tenth, the Australian put his car in difficult position.
Piastri pushed the car into uncomfortable position
He was lacking more than tenth or two, as he eventually finished fifth – thanks to the late retirement of Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Leclerc. “I think in qualifying we were definitely a lot closer obviously,” continued Piastri. “I think Lando in the race was able to challenge the Mercedes.
“Clearly Ferrari have taken a big step forward this weekend. Even without the upgrades they had, they’ve always been incredibly quick in the corners. I think on a day like today where you need that downforce and make sure you protect the tyres, I think it was a big advantage.
“I think it’s all perfectly explainable. We’re always lacking that last tenth or two, or in my case, a lot more than that. But when you’re trying to chase that last little bit, things are a bit uncomfortable. You need to put the car in a place it doesn’t always like to be, and that comes with some challenges,” summed up Piastri.
