Tyres and engines “will be a big problem” as wet Canada F1 race looms

Oscar Piastri has expressed concern about power unit consistency during a wet Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix, noting “we don’t know what’s going to happen”.

Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix is expected to be rain-affected, leading to the first wet race for the new cars.

The Australian said that his McLaren engineers “don't know what's going to happen” in terms of how PUs will react as changeable weather affects grip levels and so on.

That comes on top of the separate challenge of getting the wet and intermediate tyres into the right temperature window.

“It is going to be tough,” said Oscar Piastri, who starts Sunday’s race from fourth.

“We've not really driven these cars in the rain, full stop. Obviously, some people have done some testing now, but for myself, I've not driven the car in the rain.

“And this circuit in the rain is tricky anyway, when we had a wet race here a few years ago, so it's going to be tough.

“These power units don't like it when you're inconsistent, and it's basically impossible to be consistent in the rain. So there's going to be a few issues with that, most likely up and down the grid.”

Asked if the tyres or the power units would be the trickiest element, he said: “Everything! The tyres, I don't know, but I've not heard amazing things. And the power units, they're tricky enough in the dry and consistent conditions, let alone in the rain, so I think both will be a big problem.

“The power unit will just be a lap time loss, could be quite big, but obviously, getting the tyres into the window or not, the risk factor of that is significantly higher. So we'll see what we get.”

Asked what the team had done to anticipate the rain he said: “We did a lot of preparation in Miami, trying to understand. I think the conclusion was – we don't know what's going to happen.

“When you've got a few hundred, if not thousands, of the best engineers in the world that don't know what's going to happen, it's an interesting place to be! And I'm sure it's the same up and down the grid.”

Meanwhile, having just been edged out by team-mate Lando Norris in qualifying, Piastri said his best lap was close to optimum.

“I think this circuit is one where you always feel like there's a tenth or two left,” he said.

“But that normally ends up with a wheel or two missing if you try and chase it. So I think there was a bit left in there.

“Turns 3/4 I was struggling with pretty much the whole session, but apart from that, it was all pretty good.

“Looking at George's [pole] lap, it's not a perfect lap, either. So I think Mercedes still has a bit of a gap on everybody.”