​McLaren’s Unexpected Season Shift Surprises Piastri

Key Points

• McLaren's significant performance turnaround during the British Grand Prix, outperforming expectations.
• Piastri, surprised by the improvement, attributes the success to recent car upgrades.
• Despite earlier inconsistencies, McLaren's pace and performance now impress on both Saturdays and Sundays.
• With the final round of updates due for Hungary, the team aims to continue this upward trend.

Oscar Piastri admitted his surprise at the dramatic turnaround in McLaren’s performance this season. In the British Grand Prix, the updated MCL60 shone, showing impressive speed both in qualifying and race conditions.

Still watching this. ????#BritishGP ???????? #F1 pic.twitter.com/IuDWCRoqVV
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 13, 2023

At the preceding event in Austria, Lando Norris, driving the sole McLaren fitted with upgrades, managed a respectable fourth position start and finish.

The Silverstone race brought further upgrades for Norris, with Piastri finally getting to experience the initial spec modifications. These led to the team securing second and third in qualifying, and they eventually finished second and fourth in the race itself.

Unfortunately, a mid-race safety car situation caused by a minor fire in Kevin Magnussen’s Haas saw Piastri drop from the podium positions.

Overcoming Early Season Difficulties

The recent uplift in McLaren’s performance contrasts with the struggles they faced in the season's initial eight races. Falling behind in their development targets, the team decided to overhaul their technical department. This led to the departure of Technical Director, James Key. However, under Andrea Stella's leadership, the team has delivered impressive performance enhancements.

Asked about the turnaround, Piastri admitted that he hadn’t expected such a drastic improvement, saying, 

No, definitely not.Early in the season, performance was inconsistent and heavily influenced by track conditions. But the upgrades have made a significant impact on the car’s speed, particularly noticeable in the Sunday races.

Piastri praised the team's efforts, stating, 

full credit to the team for what they’ve managed to do to turn around the car, turn around the season.

Looking Ahead to Hungary

The final upgrade package will be applied to both cars in Hungary, a venue that offers a stark contrast to Silverstone and Spielberg's circuit layouts. Piastri remains optimistic about McLaren’s potential, stating, 

I don’t know if we will be the second-quickest car in Hungary. But I think we can definitely try and aim for that.

McLaren's recent performance has dispelled initial concerns about Austria being a one-off success. The team's performance is now looking more consistently competitive, which bodes well for the remainder of the season.