Oscar Piastri said McLaren quickly identified what went wrong in Monaco and did a “very good job of rebounding” to deliver one of his strongest Formula 1 showings in Spain.
The Australian driver converted pole position into a commanding race win at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona, securing a 1-2 finish for the Woking-based outfit.
At the previous round in Monaco, Piastri finished third after being edged out by his team-mate Lando Norris in a weekend that didn’t quite click for him.
That result was all the more surprising given his strong performance at the iconic Monaco circuit last year, where he narrowly missed out on victory to home hero Charles Leclerc.
However, Piastri’s fortunes turned around in Barcelona – a track where he struggled in the 2024 season, finishing seventh – but this time he excelled, showcasing significant progress.
Reflecting ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, the 24-year-old explained how the team quickly pinpointed its weaknesses from Monaco and made crucial improvements in Spain.
“Honestly, probably before we even started the race on Sunday, we pretty much knew where things had gone wrong during the weekend,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“In Spain, we did a very good job of rebounding and getting back to the level we wanted to be at.
“Starting with myself, firstly, but I think also the engineering around me.
“I think we recognised there were some opportunities in Monaco that we rectified for Spain.
“I think that was probably our strongest race in Spain, or certainly one of, for the year.
“Just from getting the car out of a nice window for me, executing a good weekend, that was exactly what I wanted it to look like.
“Obviously I’m trying not to have the blips, but I think we learned very quickly from Monaco.”
Piastri on turning past struggles into strengths
The seven-time Grand Prix winner acknowledged the irony in how circuits that posed challenges to him last season have become strengths in 2025 and vice versa.
Last year’s Canadian GP wasn’t among Piastri’s strongest showings, as he struggled to match Norris’s pace and ultimately finished fifth, three spots behind his team-mate.
But when asked whether this could be another track where he makes a significant leap forward – as he has at others this season – the Australian remained confident.
“I think this weekend should be a good one for me,” he previewed.
“I’ve worked on a lot of things from last year – I think this race was honestly probably a good one last year already.
“But yeah, somewhat ironically, the races that were pretty bad for me last year have probably been the best so far this year. And some of the ones that were good last year haven’t been great.
“So we’ll see how we go, but I’m expecting it to be a good weekend.
“It’s a track I enjoy; it’s very, very difficult for the driver in here to not make mistakes.
“But I’ve been very comfortable with the car the whole year and I feel like I’m in a good place at the moment – so I’m expecting it to be strong.”
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