McLaren’s Oscar Piastri has said he retains “some hints” over the “unusual” lack of pace that saw him struggle to eighth place during Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix.
The Australian endured a challenging weekend as a track limits violation and a run through the gravel on his final attempt in Q3 saw him resigned to starting in ninth.
While team-mate Lando Norris claimed pole position and came home in second place, Piastri failed to clear the Alpine drivers quick enough to catch the Ferrari cars.
Piastri commented post-race that he held a grasp on the reasons behind his lacklustre speed compared to Norris, but admitted he was missing the complete picture.
“[I have] Some hints and potential ideas on why it was such a big struggle, but I think the magnitude of it is… Yeah, doesn’t make full sense at the moment,” he said.
“Just need to try and understand why it’s been such a big struggle this weekend, you know, from the first lap of Friday, it’s been difficult.
“So, yeah, it’s not really gotten much better through the weekend. I think the second half of the race was maybe a bit more positive
“We’ve tried a lot, both with the car and with myself, you know, some of the corners I would say explainable. Others haven’t.
“Some of the corners I felt I’ve driven them well, I’ve been worse in the corners where I know I’ve messed them up.
“Which when you’re having qualifying laps like that, it doesn’t fill you with much confidence. So, just need to understand why that was the case this weekend.”
Piastri denied that it was the most difficult race he has encountered since he arrived in F1, but he did label it his most testing experience from a weekend perspective.
Asked whether this was the biggest struggle he’s had since coming onto the grid last term, Piastri replied: “No, I don’t think so.
“I think some other weekends, especially in some of the other races last year, Sundays were tougher than some of the weekends.
“I think here, the race, especially the second half, wasn’t too bad. I think it was just a general lack of pace.
“So I think from a tyre management point of view, it was probably not a bad result. But when you don’t have the pace to begin with, it makes it very difficult.
“So yeah, I think just being a big struggle, especially over one lap, which, I would say, has not really been the case before.”
“I would say it’s the first weekend where it’s been so, you know, such a consistent struggle with the whole way through.
“I think on some weekends last year, the race was difficult but qualifying was not bad.
“This weekend, it’s just been a struggle the whole way through, even through practice. It’s just not been happening.
“So yeah, obviously just need to understand why it’s been the case, tried a fair few different things setup side.
“I’ve just not had much confidence in the car, which is really the first time I’ve had that in my F1 career.”
But with Norris proving that the MCL38 again has certified race-winning potential in Barcelona, Piastri expressed it was encouraging to see the car has inherent speed.
“I think it’s been a bit unusual how much we’ve struggled on my side [of the garage] this weekend,” he added.
“The last sort of four or five weekends, been able to hit the ground running very well and just build from there.
“This weekend, it’s just not been happening for whatever reason, apart from the odd lap here or there that’s felt like I’ve driven it very well, with, you just not the same ease of lap time.
“So yeah, I think the fact that Lando’s been quick at a very different circuit for the last three or four, much more high speed, not as bumpy and almost won the race, I think is very encouraging for the team, just on my side need to unlock that pace.”
