Piastri: Naïve to think McLaren can win every weekend now
Oscar Piatsri believes it would be very “naïve” for McLaren to believe that it can win on a regular basis in Formula 1 following Lando Norris’ milestone triumph in Miami last time out.
Norris's sensational win, fueled by a combination of bold strategy and productive car upgrades, not to mention a flawless execution by both team and driver, ignited a surge of optimism within the team.
Early in the Miami race, Norris even managed to match race leader Max Verstappen's lap times on older tyres, showcasing the MCL38’s newfound potential.
The strong display inevitably begs the question – is McLaren now a regular contender, or was Miami a fortunate anomaly?
Norris himself remains cautious. Speaking to the media on Thursday at Imola ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna GP, the Briton modestly claimed "we're third" in the current F1 pecking order.
Piastri offered his perspective on his teammate’s assessment.
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"It's very hard to know,” he said. “We went into China and Miami thinking we would struggle a bit more and they've probably been our most competitive weekend. Miami certainly was.
"I think we've kind of learned to stop predicting how we're going to be and just see how we go.
"I think it'll be tough [at Imola]. Ferrari has got some upgrades this weekend. I don't know what Red Bull will do but everyone is constantly making their cars better. We can't stand still and kind of just expect it to be like that every weekend.
"I think it would be naive of us to think we can win every weekend now that we've won one. But I think we are definitely getting closer.
"We're learning more and more as we go through the season, which is helping us a lot."
Norris also acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead for McLaren to become a consistent race winner in F1 but suggests that title contention isn’t out of the question.
Overall, the Miami GP winner is excited about the prospect of more frequent battles with the likes of Max Verstappen and Ferrari, viewing this as a natural progression for himself and the team.
"The progress we're making, with the developments that we've had, there's no reason to say no [to being in title contention soon]," Norris explained.
"But I do know it's a whole other task to do it consistently, to do it every weekend. And when you are there to deliver under pressure every time – in qualifying, in races – to battle for these positions more than what I have done.
"That's still something I look forward to, racing against Max a bit more and racing against the Ferraris a bit more.
"Which is something we've not done, I've not done, a huge amount over the last few years.
"I'm not overconfident, I'm not underconfident. I feel like I'm at a good balance of accepting where we are and I still think we're the third-best team at the minute, but that could change if we have another good weekend here.
"I'm confident with how the team are doing, with our rate of development, which is better than any other team on the grid, that by next year, we can challenge a lot more often for wins.
"And in the big picture, hopefully, challenge for a title."
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