Oscar Piastri enjoyed a promising start to his Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, finishing Friday’s practice fifth in the pecking order, believing McLaren’s pace is “in the ballpark” in Baku.
Despite the day’s red flags that disrupted every team’s run plans, McLaren was able to assess its tyre situation and make progress on the set-up of its MCL38.
But once again, the competition is proving tight between F1’s front-runners, with under half a second separating the top five fastest drivers in FP2.
In a final session where Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led the pack, closely followed by Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton, Piastri’s solid performance put the Aussie in the chase, while his McLaren teammate Lando Norris was only P17 in FP2, having been hampered by traffic during his qualifying simulation run.
“I think it’s been a decent day,” commented Piastri. “It’s a bit hard to know at the moment, with the track evolving so much still, but our pace seems in the ballpark.”
Baku's street circuit proved particularly tricky for drivers from the outset due to its dusty nature and rapid track evolution.
Leclerc’s fastest lap in FP2 was more than two seconds quicker than Max Verstappen’s best from the earlier session, illustrating how much the track improved over the course of the day.
“Very slippery, much slipperier than it has been, I would say, in the last few years,” Piastri said.
“I think that’s why we’re seeing the track get quicker and quicker. It’s not easy out there, definitely and it’s quite inconsistent, but the same challenge for everyone.”
Despite the precarious conditions, Piastri was encouraged by the competitiveness of his McLaren, particularly in longer runs.
“Ferrari look pretty strong; Red Bull look quick; and Mercedes as well,” said this year’s Hungarian Grand Prix winner.
“At the moment, anyone in the top four teams look good. Our long run seems quite competitive, which is good, but some people are putting down some big laps."
Piastri knows that to excel in Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s race, consistency and precision will be key.
“If you hook it up, it really makes a huge difference,” he added. “That’s going to be the name of the game.”
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