McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri says his biggest surprise during his maiden season in F1 has been the inconsistency from track-to-track of the Woking-based outfit's car.
At the outset of its 2023 campaign, McLaren admitted that its MCL60 contender was under-developed, an assessment validated by the team's subdued results in the opening races of the season.
McLaren introduced significant updates at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the end of April, with changes to the car's floor that aimed to add aerodynamic.
Despite the modifications, McLaren's car has remained unpredictable out on track. While that has been a source of frustration for Lando Norris, the trait has downright startled Piastri.
©McLaren
"I think it is the inconsistency from track to track," replied the Aussie asked what has been his biggest surprise so far during his debut F1 season.
"We seem to be a bit up and down at the moment, but we are working on that."
Piastri was also a bit taken aback by the level of competition in motorsport's elite class and especially among F1's second-tier midfield runners.
"Otherwise, it is just how tight the competition I," he added. "Aston Martin made a big jump, which was a surprise, but it is so close from 10th on the grid backwards.
"Depending on the weekend, the order from 10th to 20th can be jumbled up from around five teams – it is incredibly tight.
"We have seen some exceptionally close qualifying sessions so far this year, and we have been on both the good and the bad end of those."
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While an element of inconsistency remains imbedded in McLaren's car, team papaya's machine has taken a slight step forward since Baku according to Piastri.
"I think the upgrade we brought in Baku helped us out a bit," he said. "It is in a bit of a different direction to how the car was previously, so there is more potential with the development of the car.
"To catch the top teams, we need more development, but I think we have been getting on top of the setup of the current car. We have been fine-tuning it and trying to get the last little bits out of it.
"I think we have nailed that part, and now we need some bigger bits to take that next step.
"Generally, our car works when it is cold and damp, which we saw on Sunday in Monaco and in qualifying in Spain.
"I think that is the strength of our car right now, and that is where it has felt the most comfortable. In Saudi Arabia as well, when we were on a high grip circuit during the cool temperatures at night."
McLaren's ongoing development will lead the outfit to roll out more updates over the next three races, with team boss Andrea Stella alluding to a veritable B-spec car being put on its rails.
"I think this [upgrade package] can be more important than how suitable the track is to the characteristics of our car," explained the Italian.
"Ultimately for us, it’s a milestone in terms of possibly turning around the situation this season. Not only thanks to what we bring to Austria, but also with thanks for what will follow in the next races."
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