With the F1 Championship battle heating up at the Las Vegas GP and the season entering its final stretch, Oscar Piastri faces mounting pressure to reverse McLaren’s recent form slump. Ahead of Las Vegas, the Australian driver discussed the challenges that have plagued his campaign since the summer break and what lies ahead.
Understanding the recent struggles
When asked about the difficult run of races that has contrasted sharply with his strong start to the season, Oscar Piastri offered a measured analysis of where things have gone wrong.
“Yes, largely yes. I think Austin and Mexico were quite different to the other races that have not gone so successfully,” he said. “I think there was a clear pace deficit and something pretty fundamental that just wasn’t working.
He continued, “I think the other races have just been a combination of different things going wrong. Obviously, Baku was what it was. Singapore, from a performance standpoint, actually was pretty solid. Just the race obviously didn’t pan out exactly how I wanted.
“And I think even Brazil, the pace was good at points. I think the sprint crash didn’t have a great impact on the rest of the weekend either. There were some things resulting from that that were suboptimal for the rest of the weekend.”
Piastri faced different challenges
Rather than pointing to a single issue as the culprit, Oscar Piastri painted a picture of varied challenges. “I think from a pace and performance point of view, I think Brazil was actually quite good,” he stated. “It was just that there were a lot of things that happened that meant the results weren’t on the table.
“For me, it’s not been kind of… Yes, there’s been a string of races that have not gone very well, but I don’t think they’ve been along the same lines. I think Austin and Mexico were, but the other races have just been… The performance has been there, but there’s been something going wrong, whether it be a mistake or a crash or something else going wrong. But obviously, there’s just been things that have hampered the results.
“So I don’t need to look at it as kind of a… It’s all been going wrong for the same reason what’s happened. There were a couple of races where, yes, we needed to do some head-scratching and work out what was going on, but the other races that have been tough have just been what some might say is the difficult world of motorsport.”
Chasing the Championship
With significant ground to make up in the championship battle at the F1 Las Vegas GP, Oscar Piastri was asked whether he feels he must win every remaining race and if his approach needs to change.
“It would certainly help,” he acknowledged with a hint of candour. “But I think, for me, the best thing I can do, and what I try and do every weekend, is just get the most performance out of myself in the car.
“And if I can do that, then I can put myself in the best position to try and win the race, and that’ll help me with the championship. So that’s kind of all I’m focused on at the moment, all I have been focused on, really. And that’s not going to change at all. It’s going to be difficult now to try and win, but the mentality of trying to get on each weekend and getting the most out of it is still as I can say.”
Learning from adversity
Reflecting on the season as a whole, Piastri was asked if there was anything he would have done differently. “Not necessarily, no,” he replied.
“I think the first half of the season was incredibly strong. I think, again, like I said before, even the last few races it’s not been… Yes, there’s been a couple of races that have been learning experiences, but there’s also been a lot of moments that have been just kind of difficult to go through. But I think I’ve learned something from each of those moments, no matter how tough that has been, there’s been something that’s helped me in the future from all of those events.”
When pressed on whether he would have preferred better results, Piastri remained pragmatic. “Would I have liked the results to have been better? Yes, of course, but there’s going to be bumps along the road, not everything is going to be perfect,” he said.
“Ultimately I think trying to learn lessons and not just set myself up for this season, I want to try and obviously win any opportunity I get for the rest of my career, and sometimes some of these tough hills just follow a path of trying to make that happen.”
The road to Las Vegas
The question whether McLaren’s recent fundamental issues could resurface at the F1 Las Vegas GP, another low-grip circuit, was put to Piastri, who offered an optimistic but cautious assessment.
“Potentially, yes,” he acknowledged. “But I think by the end of Mexico I felt pretty comfortable that I’d kind of learned the things I needed to learn, and instead of kind of looking at it from a numbers and going, this is what I need to try and do, it was more from a feeling point of view, this is how it has to feel.
“And that was again a tough thing to have to try and learn, but I feel much more comfortable with that now. I think even in Brazil there was corners that needed a similar kind of thing and they were competitive for me, so I’m not necessarily concerned about that. Vegas is always very specific, even if it is low grip, it’s quite a different type of low grip, so we’ll see if it’s the same or not, but I’m not concerned.”
As the championship battle reaches its final leg, Piastri’s measured approach and determination to extract maximum performance from himself each weekend suggest he has the mental fortitude to navigate the remainder of the season. With the F1 Las Vegas GP looming, the question now is whether Piastri can convert that mindset into the results needed to keep up with his teammate.
