Oscar Piastri says when McLaren has low-key weekends, it felt like off-weekend for them after the second half they had.
The success that McLaren had in second half of the 2023 F1 season, Piastri reckons they are now used to the situation as much where even low-key weekends feel like off-weekend and it is not as exciting place to be during race weekends.
Piastri expects the fight to continue especially against Mercedes and Ferrari too. “I think as a team we’ve tasted a lot more success in the second half of the year,” he said. “Now when we have these kind of [low-key] races, they are like off-weekends as it feels like which is an exciting place to be.
“I think we’re fully expecting 2024 to go into the year fighting for more, or at least making our good weekends we’ve had this year every weekend. But I’m sure Mercedes and Ferrari have the same idea. So we will try our best, definitely try and start it a little better than we did in 2023.
“For myself, I feel like I’ve got much more experience under my belt. And hopefully I can use that for whatever position we find ourselves in,” summed up Piastri, as he notes about focusing much on the tyre management which he hopes gets sorted for him in 2024.
“The tyre management has definitely been the area of focus for the whole year,” said Piastri. “These tyres are not easy, this car is not easy in certain conditions, so it’s always a bit of a new experience in every grand prix. So hopefully – now I’ve been to all the circuits in this car, I know a bit more what to expect, I feel like I’ve left every race knowing a lot more than I did at the start of them – that can be a bit stronger in 2024.”
Here’s F1 2023 teams’ tier order: https://formularapida.net/f1-2023-teams-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/
Here’s F1 2023 drivers’ tier order: https://formularapida.net/f1-2023-drivers-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/
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