Oscar Piastri did not achieve the expected result in Mexico but he was “much more satisfied” of his McLaren F1 than in Austin.
What will give him confidence before this Grand Prix in Brazil? He spoke today in Sao Paulo before the action begins tomorrow on the track.
“Yes, much more satisfied! I think in Austin we had a fast car but very, very difficult to drive. And I think in qualifying, especially, it was difficult to get the most out of it. In the race, just being a little bit slower in the lap times, maybe it's a little bit easier to get the pace, but I was a lot happier in Mexico, which is not. obviously not reflected in the results.”
“But yeah, I felt a lot more comfortable and it's a bit of a shame to qualify even more poorly, really. But I prefer, you know, in a way, to have a weekend like in Mexico where I'm at least comfortable and knowing I made a mistake rather than a little more in Austin where I'm struggling to get the most out of the car.”
And what did Lando Norris say about the new flat bottom?
“Good question! I don't know. Not much, obviously. It's doing what it's supposed to do from what I've heard and seen, which is always a good thing. But this didn't Didn't transform the car, I would say, so I hope it's just a small improvement.”
And what is the feeling at McLaren at the moment regarding the constructors' championship? Ferrari sounds fully charged. Nervousness?
“I would say no. I think we always knew that Ferrari was going to be a threat. And that, you know, since Monza they have had a very, very fast car. Some weekends the results have not not shown. So for us, it's not a big surprise that they were as fast as these last weekends, in particular. So we'll see if this series continues But we knew that was to be expected. a fight for sure, so yes, it's going to be an exciting end to the year in both championships.”
Does he really believe Norris can catch Verstappen?
“I mean it's possible. It's certainly not an easy task. And, you know, in a way, it depends on the two drivers. What happens, obviously, is that Lando doesn't can't just win all the races and have Max finish second because Max will still win. So it depends a bit on the results.”
It's obviously a very close fight with the top three teams and Mercedes from time to time, so the swing one way or the other may still be quite significant at the moment. It’s possible, it’s difficult, but it’s doable.”
