Sports · Motorsport · 2 hrs ago
Piastri sees pace in McLaren after difficult Mexico City practice
Oscar Piastri was encouraged by McLaren’s pace after Friday practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix, despite a difficult day.
He finished 10th in the second session, while teammate Lando Norris was second and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led both sessions.
Piastri said mistakes spoiled his fast lap and that correcting them could move him higher up the order.
The circuit is more than 2,200 metres above sea level, where thin air makes grip, car balance and engine cooling challenging.
Piastri said McLaren handled the altitude better than he expected, but he expects Ferrari to be hard to beat.
He also said Ferrari’s smaller turbo did not appear to give it a decisive advantage on the straights.
Qualifying is the next test, with the field closely matched and Piastri aiming to improve ahead of Saturday’s session.
Oscar Piastri said McLaren handled the altitude at Mexico City's circuit better than he expected.
He finished 10th in FP2, 0.539 seconds behind teammate Lando Norris, who was second.
Piastri said his soft-tyre lap was messy but believed McLaren had strong underlying pace.
He said Ferrari looked very quick and would be difficult to beat in qualifying.
Piastri also said Ferrari's smaller turbo did not appear to be a major advantage on the straights.
- Who
- Oscar Piastri, the McLaren driver, assessed the team's performance.
- What
- He said McLaren coped with Mexico City's altitude better than he expected, despite a messy soft-tyre lap.
- When
- Friday practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
- Where
- The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit in Mexico City.
- Why
- The circuit's high altitude creates challenges including low grip and engine cooling demands.
George Russell
Oscar Piastri
Turbocharger advantage at altitude
George Russell
Russell suggested Ferrari's smaller turbo could give it quite an advantage.
Oscar Piastri
Piastri said the turbo was unlikely to make as much difference as expected.
George Russell suggested Ferrari's smaller turbo could give it an advantage at altitude.
Piastri finished eighth while Norris sat out the session to allow Leonardo Fornaroli to drive.
Piastri finished 10th and said McLaren's pace and handling of the altitude were better than he expected.
- FP2 position
- Piastri finished 10th
- FP2 gap
- 0.539 seconds behind Norris
- Norris's FP2 position
- Second
- Circuit altitude
- More than 2,200 metres above sea level
- McLaren's view of altitude
- Piastri said the car coped better than he expected
3 sources
What people are saying
It was difficult for sure, but I don’t think necessarily worse than what I was expecting, or if anything it was probably a little bit better than I was expecting.
My soft lap in FP2 was pretty messy, but I felt like the kind of overall pace seems to be there
So I think to try and beat Ferrari tomorrow is going to be very tough, as it looks like.