Piastri at McLaren’s home GP: “I don’t feel any more pressure” | FP

Would it really have been a 2nd place?

The last Austrian Grand Prix was in the spotlight not only for the contact that occurred at the end of the race between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, but also for the controversy that erupted over the weekend over some penalties inflicted on various drivers. Among these was Oscar Plateswith the Australian McLaren driver climbing onto the 2nd step of the podium but who could have seriously fought for his first F1 victory if it hadn’t been for the cancellation of his fastest qualifying lap due to failure to comply with the track limitswhich demoted him from 3rd to 7th on the grid.

The most indicative evidence

Now, on the eve of the British GPPiastri returned to the issue dating back to last Saturday, with the protest presented by McLaren rejected by the FIA: “In the photos we have seen it is not clear where the rear wheel is located or what – he explained to the media – for me there are two points. The first is that, if there is room for an exit from the track, we must monitor it correctly. The evidence that led to the cancellation of my lap was provided by a helicopter that was only present on me for that lapwhich is a bit frustrating when there are other drivers potentially going off the track who didn’t have a helicopter on them. So I think it’s a very fine line and it needs to be discussed, but the easiest way to eliminate it is to make the white line 20 centimetres wider and not worry about it at all. I think the camera shot with half the wheel hanging off the concrete, almost into the gravel, for me is a really beautiful shot that everyone needs to see. So I think it was a shame that with all the work we’ve done in a lot of the other corners, we left enough room for what is ultimately quite a painful issue for everyone, obviously for me.”

In England to win

With the Red Bull Ring incident behind him, Piastri is now focused on this weekend’s GP at Silverstone, McLaren’s home race where the Australian believes he can fight for victory after the team’s excellent progress since the start of this championship: “I think I’m definitely in the running for the win – he has declared – over the last three months we have had a really competitive car and there have been a lot of opportunities. I don’t think there has been a clear opportunity where we could have won easily, but we have been fighting for a long time now, so I don’t think that changes the mentality. I think we have had enough testing on different tracks to be able to say that we are back and that we are capable of fighting for wins. Obviously you try to do a good performance every weekend, but maybe the team wants to do a better weekend. Winning at Silverstone would be nice for the team, but for me there is no additional pressure“.