The Melbourne native ended the second practice session seventh, just ahead of team-mate Lando Norris.
In his quest for a strong performance at the Australian Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri is eager to find greater consistency from his McLaren during qualifying.
Despite a closely contested practice session in Melbourne, Piastri managed to secure seventh place in the second practice session, building on his earlier 10th place finish in the opening 60 minutes of practice.
Lando Norris, the teammate who led Free Practice 1 with the top five drivers being separated by less than a tenth of a second, expressed doubt that the team would be able to maintain that performance during qualifying.
Piastri shared the same sentiment, emphasizing that McLaren faces challenges at the Albert Park circuit. Sectors 1 and 2, which highlight the car’s high-speed corner capabilities, are favorable for McLaren. However, the car’s weakness in navigating the slow and tight corners of Sector 3 could hinder their performance. Piastri emphasized the importance of consistency in the car, as it will determine whether McLaren starts near the front or back of the top 10.
Piastri elaborated that it’s been a bit challenging, with moments of strength and moments of weakness. It will be intriguing to see how it all plays out.
Today has shown some promising signs, but we need to work on bringing everything together, especially with the challenging wind conditions everyone is facing.
Norris and I have a similar approach when it comes to set-up, as we tend to stay close together without straying too far. We experimented with a few different options, which is a common practice.
We will assess the results overnight and make a decision on what to use for tomorrow.
The short-term speed appears to be quite competitive, as it has been this year. Even with a slight improvement in pace, we will be fighting at the front. However, if we perform like we did towards the end of FP2, we might find ourselves towards the lower end of the top 10 positions.
This has been our position in the last two races, so we aim to enhance the car’s consistency for better results.
Certain teams have intriguing tire options available, and tire degradation appears to be quite significant. Therefore, Sunday is bound to be an engaging day. However, securing a top qualifying position can simplify matters, which is why we will dedicate considerable effort towards achieving that goal.
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