Piastri's honest take on the MCL39: 'Never as good as you want it to'
F1 News
- Savannah Lenz
After winning the constructors' championship last year, all eyes are on McLaren and if their new car, the MCL39, will be a championship-winning car. Oscar Piastri weighs in on what he currently thinks about the new McLaren car after three days of testing.
In only his second season, Piastri helped McLaren win their first constructors championship in 26 years. Now the papaya team heads into the 2025 Formula 1 season as reigning champions and they are looking to start off on the right foot.
How does the MCL39 feel?
Before he took to the track for day three of testing, Piastri was asked about how the MCL39 felt and he did not hold back. He said, "It's been a bit up and down. I think some of the runs have looked very strong. Others have been a bit trickier." Piastri ended the third day of testing in P4 while Lando Norris landed down in 11th.
With the last season ending so close, many teams expect it to start the same way. Piastri agrees. "I'm expecting it to be pretty tight once we get to Melbourne next week,” addind that it's "hard to know" about how the car feels.
"It felt decent. It felt pretty similar to last year, but you just never know. I think with this generation of car, it's never going to feel as good as you ever want it to. It's just whether that's better than everyone else," concluded the McLaren driver.
Is Piastri playing it modest, or is the MCL39 really trickier to manage than the MCL38? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
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