Oscar Piastri is expecting McLaren to shake off its Miami blues with a much stronger showing at this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.
McLaren suffered through arguably its most uncompetitive weekend last time out in Miami, where the MCL60 was the slowest car in the field in qualifying and the race.
Piastri qualified and finished 19th with a brake-by-wire system issue preventing him from moving forward in the race, though teammate Lando Norris went backwards in his fully firing car anyway, starting 16th and finishing 17th.
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The team put the particularly poor performance down to a combination of environmental factors that played to its car’s weaknesses.
The MCL60 appears to have a general grip deficiency. When a circuit is very grippy, the drivers can to push harder on the brakes to load up the front axle in the way the car prefers and then power early out of the corner.
But when the circuit lacks grip, the car wallows through the middle of the turn, and the drivers have to wait too long before they get back on throttle.
The Miami International Autodrome’s new surface was very low grip, especially on Sunday after overnight rain.
The problem was exacerbated by high track temperatures, which meant the rubber would overheat through the bends, in turn reducing how much grip the tyres would offer.
But with Monaco presenting a far less extreme series of conditions, Piastri is optimistic McLaren can return to its target position near the front of the midfield this weekend.
“I think we’ve analysed that quite heavily and hopefully we can make some steps to improve in those kinds of conditions,” said the Australian. “I think also it’s supposed to be a lot colder than Miami was, which we think was kind of our issue as well.
“Obviously it’s a very different circuit here to Miami, so hopefully it suits us a bit better, but in saying that, we need to address our weaknesses in other areas too.”
This will be Piastri’s second visit to the principality, his first being two years ago in Formula 2, where he picked up an eighth and two second places.
But the Aussie said he would need to reacclimatise to the circuit given the significant pace difference between the categories, the magnitude of which he first clocked at the first street circuit of the year in Saudi Arabia.
“The first time I went to Saudi this year was quite an eye-opener, how much quicker sector one is in an F1 car, so I think everywhere around here will feel a lot quicker,” he said.
“But we’ve got three hours of practice, which is nice compared to the 45 minutes I used to have around here [in Formula 2]. It’s a lot of time to get used to it.
“Obviously you want to try and start on the front foot and build yourself up from a good starting point, but we’ve got time.”
Piastri said he was also still on a learning curve just five rounds into a disrupted maiden season, keeping expectations in check.
“Just getting back up to speed after last year, not driving anything last year — I think getting used to first laps and race starts again, and being around other cars is always a challenge,” he said.
“I think just understanding more about the world of F1 and how to structure your weekends properly and stuff like that.
“I think in terms of driving as well, obviously I’ve got a very good benchmark in Lando, so I’ve been able to learn a lot about, firstly, how to attack my driving but also how to help the team move forward as well, and I think we’ve been working together very well on that.
“There’s been a lot of learning, and I’m sure it’ll only continue.”
McLaren is historically the most successful team at the Monaco Grand Prix, having won the race 15 times in its history.
Its previous podium came in 2021, when Lando Norris finished third, but its most recent victory came in 2008 at the hands of Lewis Hamilton.