At McLaren they are struggling a bit with the circumstances that led to the racing team leaving Las Vegas with only one point (and the bonus point for the fastest race lap). While Lando Norris was out early after his accident, Oscar Piastri was in a good position for a long time, but in the end had to settle for tenth place.
“It’s just a shame because Oscar was absolutely brilliant,” says team boss Andrea Stella. McLaren was aware that the exit in Q1 wasn’t really representative of the pace, “but somehow it was a surprise how fast we were.”
Piastri benefited from the mud in front of him at the start and gained five positions on the hard tires. Changes in the competition during the first safety car phase brought him close to the top 10. The Australian was already in sixth place when he collided with Lewis Hamilton and was forced into the pits.
“That’s a shame because because we started on the hard tires we had to come into the pits early,” says Stella. And because the distance to the finish was still far too long to be able to drive through on mediums, the McLaren driver took the hard tires again.
But that also meant he had to put another tire on before the end. In fourth place, he came back in a few laps before the end and ended up only tenth.
Race doesn’t play into strategy’s hands
“The race didn’t suit someone who started on Hard – including when it came to the safety car,” complains Stella. While all but a few of the backbenchers were on hards after the neutralization in the middle of the race, switching to mediums didn’t make sense for Piastri.
“We thought it was too early, and besides, he was in a strong position and we defended it on the track,” explains the team boss. “I don’t think that would have been a good idea because at the end of the race we would have been in big problems with the media.”
Stella assesses the annoying incident with Hamilton neutrally: “I have to look at it again,” he says. “I’m not sure, but I trust that they were right in not opening an investigation.” At least Piastri didn’t complain about Hamilton either. “It doesn’t look clear.”
Good performance from car and Piastri
The team boss can live well with McLaren’s general performance at the weekend in Las Vegas. “We are happy with the performance of the car, even though we were behind Red Bull and Ferrari and I think on par with Mercedes,” said Stella. “I’m happy with our progress, but the track didn’t suit our car.”
“Oscar seemed to be able to make good use of the hard tires, and I’m sure that would have been the case for Lando too. Because even at the start and the restarts he was able to keep up. There was a car on soft that was slower. And he could “Going along with the people on Mediums. The interaction with the tires was good once again.”
But there is also praise from the boss for Piastri himself: “I think that all the strengths he showed today from a racing perspective are absolutely first-class,” praises Stella. “But he’s shown that before.”
“Sometimes we held our breath during overtaking maneuvers because there is no result if you don’t finish, but looking back, he always had space in his maneuvers. That’s what made him strong.”