Oscar Piastri has issued a warning to Mercedes, believing McLaren is closing on the team dominating the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Whilst the Canadian Grand Prix ended in disaster for McLaren, the reigning constructor champions are on an upward trajectory after a difficult start to the season.
Bringing seven upgrades to Miami, it transformed the MCL40, allowing Piastri to battle with George Russell during the weekend.
That duel looked set to continue in Canada, prior to McLaren ruining its race chances by starting on intermediate tyres on a drying track, and Piastri’s penalty for crashing into Alex Albon.
Reflecting on the contrasting fortunes in Montreal and Miami, Piastri highlighed the positives, despite the challenges faced last time out.
“We’ve got some homework to do on how to make the car even quicker,” Piastri said to media, including Motorsport Week.
“[Canada] was a positive weekend in a few different areas, maybe not very spectacular in terms of results, but I felt like I made some good progress compared to Miami on a few things.
“So there are always positives there, but you’ve got to look pretty hard.
Is Mercedes within reach for Oscar Piastri and McLaren?
While Piastri admitted that Mercedes remains out of reach for now, he believes further understanding of the MCL40 and the Mercedes power unit could bring McLaren back into play.
“Mercedes were definitely still ahead, we could get close, and it was a similar picture to Miami, which isn’t a bad thing.
“If we could get track position, then we could hang on, but we still want to find the time, we still want to get more out of the car and the power unit, if we can.
“We’re definitely not in a position to be winning races on merit, but we’re not too far off.”
Piastri’s optimism on McLaren’s improved pace is well founded, but the team must avoid the mistakes of Canada if it is to return to winning ways in the short term.
Discussion about this post