Oscar Piastri issues verdict on McLaren upgrades in Mercedes F1 battle

Oscar Piastri maintained that McLaren still has work to do if it is to reach the heights of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

After tough weekends in Australia and China, McLaren showed signs of a recovery as Piastri finished on the podium in Japan, having led prior to a mid-race safety car during the pit stop phase.

Having brought a significant upgrade package to Miami, it was Norris who fell agonisingly short of Kimi Antonelli on Sunday. But with the McLaren pair flanking the Italian on the podium, questions about McLaren’s title credentials were quickly raised.

Asked if McLaren is now in a position to consistently fight the pace-setting Mercedes, Piastri said: “I think yes.

“We’ll obviously have to wait and see what Mercedes bring, because they didn’t bring much this weekend and were still - in qualifying and the main race - probably the same, if not a tiny bit quicker, over one lap.

“We’re certainly not quite back in the position we were last year, but we’re getting there. With more to come, it’s a good place to be.”

In Norris’ hands, the MCL40 was the dominant car in Saturday’s Sprint race, as he became the first non-Mercedes driver to take a victory of any kind this term, leading a McLaren one-two.

With further upgrades planned for Canada, Piastri added: “We kind of need to see where we stack up at a few different tracks.

“I think especially in the Sprint side of this weekend, to have a one-two in the Sprint on pure pace, that was a pretty big surprise for us. So, things are working well.

“We expected the upgrades to be a good step forward and they have been, and hopefully they are again in Canada.

“But obviously Mercedes didn’t bring a lot this weekend and they also have an upgrade package for Canada, so we’ll have to wait and see how much that’s worth for them.”