McLaren F1 star reveals key to continued success

Piastri, JapaneseGP — Photo: © LAT Images

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McLaren F1 star makes winter development admission

Oscar Piastri and McLaren had a dramatic turn in fortunes last season

Originally written by Tyler Rowlinson. This version is a translation.

Tuesday 30 January 2024 18:57

Oscar Piastri has admitted that McLaren have to keep up the momentum they gained in the second half of last season if they're to challenge for race wins.

Team principal Andrea Stella has admitted that the papaya squad missed their development marks last winter, and struggled mightily for months.

The result was Piastri and team-mate Lando Norris turning up to the first race in Bahrain with an underdeveloped car that would struggle to get out of Q1.

McLaren failed to score points in the first two races of the season, but after a major upgrade in Austria, the team emerged as the most consistent challenger to Red Bull.

Oscar Piastri claimed the Rookie of the Year award in 2023

The Aussie grabbed two podiums and a sprint race win in Qatar

Piastri: 'Momentum is key to success'

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Piastri picked up two podium finishes in 2023 as well as a win in the sprint race in Qatar, and the Rookie of the Year has said that the key to the team’s success for this year is to continue from where they left off.

Speaking with motorsport.com, the Aussie said: "The biggest thing is to continue the momentum. If you stand still, you're going backwards.

Piastri has stressed his team must keep the momentum going

"We're happier than we were at this point 12 months ago with how things are looking. But until you're on track with everyone else, you never quite know what it's going to be like…

"The thing for us is, we still have pretty clear weaknesses [low-speed handling] compared to our competitors. It's just that we also have good strengths as well.

"How those are going to balance up against each other is always difficult even for us to know. Every team has some sort of fluctuation at every circuit apart from Red Bull [at] Singapore."

Red Bull McLaren Lando Norris Oscar Piastri