Oscar Piastri, an Australian driver for McLaren, expressed his belief that Red Bull’s performance in the Bahrain Grand Prix should be evaluated in comparison to their competitors. He suggested that the true potential of Red Bull’s pace will be revealed once other teams reveal their true capabilities. Despite Max Verstappen, the Red Bull driver, being the fastest in practice sessions on Thursday, he struggled to maintain his position and ended up in sixth place. Verstappen speculated that other drivers may have pushed their engines to achieve faster lap times. Piastri, on the other hand, believes that McLaren is performing as expected, with his MCL38 car placing third and fifth in the first and second practice sessions respectively.
The second practice session, which took place at night, showcased a mix of competitive teams at the top of the leaderboard. Mercedes secured the first two positions, with Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin in third, Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari in fourth, and Piastri ahead of Verstappen. Piastri stated that McLaren is in the mix and that Red Bull doesn’t appear to be as quick as initially anticipated. He expects a close competition and is optimistic about McLaren’s chances of securing a podium or a top-ten finish.
Piastri expressed satisfaction with the performance of the MCL38 throughout Thursday’s running, both in qualifying and race simulations. However, he acknowledged the need to address inconsistencies within the team’s performance and analyze specific runs in more detail. Overall, Piastri’s assessment of the day was positive.
The teammate of the Australian driver expressed a more negative outlook on McLaren’s chances for the weekend, but found some improvement during practice.
The British driver also believes that the competition will be closely matched in qualifying, but acknowledges that Red Bull is still ahead of the pack.
Norris mentioned that the wind has had an impact on the cars’ performance, favoring some and not others. He emphasized that Red Bull is still leading the way.
The performance of Mercedes remains uncertain, but they were never expected to perform poorly. The qualifying session is expected to be highly competitive.
Norris acknowledged the influence of the wind, which is a common factor in the Bahrain Circuit’s desert environment. Piastri further explored the impact of this unique performance variable.
Blaming the wind may seem insignificant, but Piastri explained that the cars’ balance and downforce are greatly affected by it.
The wind certainly made conditions challenging on the track, and it is expected to continue affecting the races tomorrow.