Piastri downplays McLaren’s chances in China

Oscar Piastri has downplayed the expectations of the McLaren team at the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend.

The Australian compared it to other circuits that the Woking-based outfit have struggled with in recent years, suggesting the characteristics are no match for the McLaren MCL38.

McLaren have enjoyed a strong start to the season, sitting level in third place in the constructors’ standings, despite being a pace behind Ferrari – the team that managed to achieve their best result at the end of last year.

However, Piastri believes the upcoming grand prix could be a “difficult” event for McLaren, setting expectations for the first round of the season in Bahrain, where he and Lando Norris finished eighth and sixth respectively – their worst results of the year.

“I think it will be one of the most difficult circuits for us so far,” the 23-year-old told the media. RacingNews365 when asked about McLaren’s prospects at the Shanghai International Circuit.

“I think in Bahrain, there’s a lot of low-speed corners there as well, and we didn’t compete there like some of the more recent circuits. So, I think it’s going to be a tough weekend for us, to be honest,” he said, before adding: “I think there’s still opportunity for us, considering it’s a race.”

‘Sprint makes it fair for everyone’

With the Chinese Grand Prix hosting the first of six fast race weekends in F1 this year, extra points will be up for grabs on Saturday morning, before focusing on qualifying for the grand prix and the main event on Sunday.

However, this also means that teams and drivers will only get one hour of practice before Friday’s shootout. While whether the format would be an advantage or a disadvantage for him and McLaren, Piastri was neutral on the issue, judging many to be in the same situation.

“I think there are pros and cons,” he replied.

“Considering that no one has been here for five years, it is difficult for everyone, and also for the team – not coming here in this car control makes life difficult for them. Yes, I think for me, the sprint makes it equal for everyone.

However, the one-time race winner highlighted past experience as an advantage over some of the veteran drivers in the field.

“Obviously, the people who were here before 2019, Fernando (Alonso), Lewis (Hamilton), for example, still have more than 10 years of experience coming to this place. So, I’m sure that will be very useful for them,” he suggested.

“At least it’s not just me, who hasn’t been here, I think there are five or six of us. So, yeah, that will make things a little bit easier for me, but it still seems like a really hard track to get used to.”