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McLaren's F1 driver Oscar Piastri believes their strides over the recent races have made them the second fastest car on the grid, behind Red Bull.
In an interview with Speedcafe, Oscar Piastri made a bold and confident statement about this and said:
"Really, the only car better than us was the Red Bull."
Comparing their car's speed with that of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, Piastri said:
"Lewis was clearly very quick as well, but compared to where we were even a few weekends ago, it's very, very exciting that we can, I think realistically, aim for that every weekend [podiums]."
Upgrades introduced during the British and Austrian Grand Prix have improved the performance of the MCL60, which has helped the Papaya Team finish in the top 10 and secure two podiums.
Oscar Piastri evaluates the performance of McLaren since the upgrades
Oscar Piastri thinks McLaren were a lot more competitive at Silverstone. It was his best race as he struggled initially to drive an F1 car at the beginning of this season.
He also thinks that McLaren could better their tire management strategy, saying:
"I think [in Hungary], clearly the tyre management is a big learning curve still."
Speaking further about tires, Oscar Piastri recalls that Barcelona was a circuit with two pitstops similar to that at Hungaroring, along with much degradation.
He said:
"Unfortunately, you can't learn these things in practice or testing, you've got to learn them the hard way in the races."
The team needs to work fast and smart to improve themselves at Spa, a track known for its high-speed corners. He believes they can be formidable podium contenders and compete with Red Bull with proper racing strategy and tire management.
According to the data collected by the team, though, slow corners continue to be a weakness. To tackle this problem, the design team has to improve the car's design so that they avoid facing the same problem in 2024.
The Belgian GP also includes a sprint race. Adapting the speed of the car to the nature of the track is of paramount importance. Spa is known for being a demanding track in terms of turns. Due to low ground clearance on ride heights like Eau Rouge, the car can't push much as it would damage the floor.
However, McLaren can pull off a good race at the Belgian Grand Prix as the team has an advantage at high-speed curves.
