According to home hero Oscar Piastri, many question marks remain about the first qualifying in Australia. The McLaren driver, born and raised in Melbourne, secured the fastest time during the second free practice. However, the first hour of practice went much less flawlessly, as he admitted afterwards: Piastri called it his ‘most complicated F1 session ever’. The rest of the field also seemed to still be struggling with the new regulations.
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“It was certainly different, that’s for sure,” a relieved Piastri laughed to the press present in Melbourne. The McLaren driver was faster than his competitors in FP2, but emphasized that it still takes some getting used to in his new MCL40. “The first free practice was difficult,” he admitted. In it, he got no further than the sixth fastest time. “It was by far the most difficult and complicated session I have ever had in Formula 1.”
McLaren managed to recover in the second session and successfully completed Piastri’s program. “That second practice felt more like the new normal,” he added. “Everything went a bit smoother. It was all a bit more consistent and the car reacted as we expected, so that was positive.” Still, it remains to be seen how the rest of the weekend will unfold. “Qualifying is going to be tricky,” he promised. “At the moment it’s hard to predict how tricky. The practice sessions are challenging enough already.”
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Question marks
Piastri explained that the fast laps of the competition during practice have become unpredictable. To avoid wasting electrical power, all drivers are getting on the gas later than usual. “That makes it complicated to judge exactly where the car behind you is,” he explained. “We’re not used to those kinds of quirks yet.” Furthermore, many adjustments can still be made in the run-up to Saturday’s session: due to logistical problems resulting from the war in the Middle East, the garages will remain open tonight. “Many teams will still come up with solutions,” Piastri predicted.
Despite his fastest time in FP2, the McLaren driver expects Ferrari and Mercedes to have the best cards in Melbourne. Both teams came out well from the test days in Bahrain and looked competitive again on the first Friday in Australia. “It’s hard to say anything about the balance of power,” Piastri responded when asked. “I didn’t feel like we are far behind Mercedes and Ferrari. Maybe a tiny bit. It’s more important now that we get the most out of our own package.”
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