Piastri admits he is still not extracting all of McLaren’s potential

Oscar Piastri left Madrid with eighth place and a broader conclusion about his season. The Australian believes the McLaren has very strong underlying pace, but admits he has found it harder this year to extract that performance consistently. The contrast with Norris, who took pole and finished third, was visible again at the Madring.

In the race, Piastri felt his pace on the hard tyre in clean air was solid, but he became stuck in traffic and described the medium as good for only one lap before it dropped away sharply. His issue is therefore not proving that the MCL40 is quick; it is finding the operating window that Norris reaches more often. Baku becomes another test of that adaptability.