Piastri expecting more from Red Bull at Monza: 'Not the same as Zandvoort'

F1 News

Piastri expects more from competition at the italian grand prix
29 August at 17:59
  • Estéban den Toom

At the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, Lando Norris in his McLaren outpaced Max Verstappen. Teammate Oscar Piastri finished fourth in the Netherlands. Next weekend, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza is scheduled. Piastri expects the competition to be strong here, and the Australian sees an exciting weekend ahead.

Piastri expects a different race in Italy than what we saw last time out in Zandvoort. "I don't think it will look the same as Zandvoort. I expect Red Bull to be a bit stronger, but I'm expecting Mercedes and especially Ferrari to be a lot stronger. I think in Zandvoort on Sunday, Ferrari surprised a lot of people, including themselves with their competitiveness," said the McLaren driver, who is seriously considering Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari all to challenge hard.

Piastri expects a lot from one team at Monza

"I have heard that they [Ferrari] have got some upgrades here and it's traditionally been a track that they've been very strong at and a similar track characteristic to some other places where they've been very strong. So I'm very much expecting them to be at the front. I think it’ll be very tight. It could be very easily an eight-car battle for the win," the 23-year-old Melbourne driver told reporters.

McLaren has performed well over the last few races and is fast catching up with Red Bull Racing in the constructors' championship. McLaren's deficit on the team of Verstappen and Sergio Perez has shrunk to 30 points, and Piastri and Norris will hope they can make another step towards the lead this weekend.

This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy

Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels!

X | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube