Positive signals for Piastri during winter testing: "No need to worry too much"

McLaren Will it still be the grid reference in 2025? This is one of the questions that observers tried to answer during the winter tests in Bahrain… in vain. At the end of the three days of testing, it is difficult to draw any conclusions or hierarchy two weeks before the start of the season in Australia (March 16). Nevertheless, some timid trends are emerging and the British team seems to be well on its way at the dawn of this new campaign. If the reigning world champion team has remained discreet in terms of timing, with the 5th absolute time among the ten teams in 1'29″940 (six tenths of a second off the best time set by Carlos Sainz), she especially showed good things about race pace and tire wear on the Sakhir track.

The McLaren MCL39, an evolution of last year's world champion MCL38, has brought satisfaction to the British clan. Oscar piastri, who completed 195 laps during the three days of testing, underlines the smooth running of the tests at the Papayes and the progress made by the Woking team. "We tried a lot of things. Our program went well and we had pretty clear indications of the effect of the various changes, which is desirable at this stage of the season, Oscar Piastri told Bahrain with Australian media Speedcafe. In terms of pace, I don't really know where we are. There were some stints that looked good, some that didn't. It's the same for everyone, but I think we're still pretty comfortable."

Piastri confident despite uncertain hierarchy

The Australian was aboard the MCL39 for the final day of testing. The Melbourne native completed 85 laps on Friday, including a race simulation. In warmer conditions than on Wednesday and Thursday, the car The British driver seemed to be more demanding on the tyres than in previous days, but Oscar Piastri is not too worried about it. The 23-year-old driver was particularly satisfied with the behaviour of the car despite a sometimes unstable rear axle. “A racing driver will always complain about a car, no matter how fast it is. We tried to solve a few problems in testing. The car was a bit tricky at times, for sure, but I don’t think there’s anything to worry about too much, underlines n°81. We tried a lot of things that allowed us to understand well what they do, but they were not always adapted to the needs of the car.

Oscar Piastri points out above all that McLaren has never performed very well on the Sakhir circuit since the introduction of the current regulations in 2022. In 2023, for its first Grand Prix in F1, the Australian had even been eliminated in Q1 and had retired. Two years later, Oscar Piastri hopes to finally have a good race at the front in Sakhir… but before that, he will have to confirm the potential of the MCL39 at home, in Melbourne. “Last year I think we ended up with a car that was pretty well balanced, and hopefully we can continue that this year, confides the Aussie. Bahrain hasn't been our best track, certainly since I've been at McLaren, but hopefully we can change that with this year's car. So I'm looking forward to seeing what we've got. We won't know until we get to Melbourne, but I think the signs are positive."

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