“I’m not yet sure if I really have complete control over tyre management,” Oscar Piastri admitted last December. Five months later, the Australian crosses the finish line nearly forty seconds ahead of the nearest non-McLaren driver on the street circuit in Miami. According to team boss Andrea Stella, this is a sign that Piastri has improved his tyre management even further, and it’s not just down to the dominant MCL39.
In his third year in Formula 1, Oscar Piastri is leading the drivers’ championship for the first time. The upward trend in the Australian’s performance is impressive, especially in the area of tyre management. Piastri himself said at the end of last season that there was plenty of room for improvement, but he is now almost forty seconds ahead of Max Verstappen in Miami.
“When I look at the way Oscar manages tyre degradation, his improvement is really not just down to the car itself,” acknowledges McLaren team boss Andrea Stella. “The only way you can exploit improvements to the car itself is when the driver understands what he needs to do with the tyres and the car. This didn’t happen by chance with Oscar or because he’s gotten a bit older, but because of a lot of work from the engineers in understanding how the tyres get damaged.”
Improvement also seen in Norris
After six races, Piastri and Lando Norris currently occupy first and second place in the drivers’ championship. According to Stella, the good performances of both drivers are evidence of his team’s hard work, especially in the area of tyre management. “It’s not like you suddenly know how to handle the tyres in every situation,” the team boss explains. “There are multiple ways to do this, and the fact that it’s working now is proof of the quality of Oscar and his team’s work. There are definitely improvements with Lando as well, especially on the hard tyre.” The Italian therefore expects the two drivers to encounter each other more often on the track in the coming races.
