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When discussing McLaren’s struggles at the Austrian Grand Prix, Alex Brundle explained why the final stages of the race from Oscar Piastri will give them reason to be optimistic.
Piastri managed to earn a P4 finish at the Red Bull Ring, while Lando Norris had to settle for P7. While not ideal results for the reigning world champions, it is on par with their results so far this season.
One of the big surprises came in the latter stages of the race, when Oscar Piastri emerged from his pit stop and started stringing together fastest lap times.
Does George Russell’s Austrian GP win earn him Driver of the Day honours, or were you more impressed by one of his rivals?
Both Piastri and Norris have complaints about McLaren’s car and how much work they’re having to do to get a sub-standard performance out of it.
But Alex Brundle pointed out just how well Oscar Piastri was doing later in the race, and how that was so unexpected given how much McLaren have struggled this year.
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Alex Brundle explains why Oscar Piastri’s late-race pace in Austria was ‘confusing’ for McLaren
Speaking on the F1 Post-Race Show after the Austrian Grand Prix, Alex Brundle talked about what he saw from Oscar Piastri that might be a sign of improvement.
Despite not changing his tyres in the latter portion of the race, Piastri was managing to push the pace of the MCL40 quite well, something they have struggled to do all season.
“They found some speed in the end with Piastri, which is what is confusing about McLaren’s performance today. The final stint Piastri did, he’s not got a tyre offset to anyone else.
“It was actually relatively long, Piastri’s stint. But he had really good speed at the end in the McLaren. They’ll be looking into that, almost as the temperature faded away from the day they improved, but that’s exactly the opposite of what we’ve seen from them.
“Norris had a different race. He had a nice tyre offset… But realistically, they were never in the hunt.”
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McLaren set for immense challenge ahead of British Grand Prix
McLaren will be hoping to make some adjustments and improvements ahead of the British Grand Prix. This process could also involve them unveiling new upgrades at Silverstone.
While the original plan was to implement them in Austria, McLaren made a U-turn on their upgrade after noticing some serious issues in Norris’ car.
Norris admitted his success has held McLaren back, as so much of their work last season was on their 2025 car to give their drivers a chance to win the world championship.
Perhaps Silverstone is where they can smoothly and seamlessly implement these upgrades and can return to winning ways this season.
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