Piastri, McLaren ready for maiden Grand Prix after test

Australia’s Oscar Piastri and McLaren are “ready” to embark on their maiden Grand Prix at Bahrain after completing the pre-season test.

Piastri enjoyed his first timed laps in the MCL60 at the critical test at the Sakhir International Circuit, which was the only way he could get some miles before his Grand Prix debut.

The 21-year-old only received the solitary appearance in the more representative night session conditions on day 2 and recorded a 1:33.175.

With cars going much faster under lights on the third and final day when McLaren teammate Lando Norris was in the car, Piastri’s best time was the 19th fastest, only ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.

But more importantly Piastri can draw confidence from the 170 laps he got under his belt, plus cracking the top 10 on day 2.

Oscar Piastri driving the MCL60 on day 3 of F1 pre-season testing. Photo by Mark Sutton / Sutton Images

The Aussie’s final day in the hot seat did not go completely to plan, only getting 44 laps in last night’s morning session, which included a high-speed spin as McLaren battled with regular front winglet issues.

However, Piastri put the setbacks behind him and believes he enters his Grand Prix debut next weekend in “reasonable shape”.

“It wasn’t the smoothest of mornings as we had a few issues with the car,” he said. 

“I didn’t get as many laps in as we would have liked. But nonetheless we still got some good running, and I’m still learning all the time, which is good. 

“I think we’re in reasonable shape for next week, some more laps would be lovely but that’s always the case. 

“It’s been a good few days of working with the team, getting the season underway, thanks to them for their support. 

“I feel like we’re in a pretty good spot and I’m looking forward to getting out for my first race next week.”

Oscar Piastri is primed for his Formula 1 Grand Prix debut at Bahrain next weekend. Photo by Steven Tee / LAT Images

Last year drivers enjoyed six days of pre-season running before the first Grand Prix at Circuit de Barcelona and Sakhir International Circuit, but in 2023 Piastri did not enjoy the same luxury.

Only three days of running at Bahrain were offered this year, leaving the Aussie with less than a week to gather his thoughts after the limited track time ahead of his debut.

Piastri admitted the circumstances were not ideal for himself and the other two rookies Nyck de Vries and Logan Sargeant, but said it is up to him to “maximise” the opportunity.

“It’s certainly a challenge, that’s for sure,” he said. 

“If I had more testing, that would be great. Myself and Logan are in the same position. Nyck is a rookie as well but he’s already done a race. 

“It’s the same for all the rookies, I’m sure we’d all love a bit more testing. 

“But I think just trying to maximise the time we’ve got is the most important thing.”

All up McLaren recorded the least amount of laps across the three days of all 10 teams with only 312 compared to 456 racked up by AlphaTauri.

Oscar Piastri finished ninth in his only night running of the F1 pre-season test. Photo by Mark Sutton / Sutton Images

Brake dramas for Lando Norris and front wheelbarrow issues for Piastri accounted for much of the lost time.

McLaren revealed it was “not entirely happy” with its launch spec car while comments during the test from the team suggested it failed to hit its development targets over the winter. Some onlookers at Bahrain were not convinced by the body language of the MCL60.

The wash-up of testing saw the papaya team emerge as the eighth fastest only ahead of Williams and Alpine thanks to Norris’ 1:32.160 set on the final night. 

With Alpine being quietly confident with new elements arriving ahead of the season opener, plus the likes of Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin taking a step forward during testing, there could be question marks surrounding McLaren’s ability to stay at the front of the midfield at the start of the season.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella conceded the final day of testing was “challenging” but believes the squad is “ready to race” at Bahrain next weekend.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has plenty to think about ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Photo by Steven Tee / LAT Images

“The final day of pre-season testing has been challenging, as we had some downtime during the repair of a minor ongoing issue,” he said. 

“We are not concerned about the issue for the race but it required some attention today to ensure we could complete as much of our run plan as possible. 

“Despite those small setbacks we could still get some good information about the car in representative night-time conditions. 

“We were able to see that we have made some steps in terms of performance across the test, and we have some valuable information ahead of the race next weekend.

“We are now ready to go racing and look forward to the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix.”

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