Piastri says McLaren needs ‘overall performance’ lift after Austrian GP boost

Piastri extracts the maximum in Austria

Oscar Piastri believes McLaren’s MCL40 is not being held back by one defining weakness, but by a broader performance deficit that must be addressed if the team is to fight consistently at the front.

Piastri crossed the line just under 22 seconds behind race winner George Russell, but crucially ahead of Lewis Hamilton in fifth and Charles Leclerc in eighth. For a McLaren team still chasing Ferrari in the championship, that made Austria a meaningful step — even if not yet evidence of a complete turnaround.

“The pace was stronger than we expected, and to be able to successfully challenge and beat Ferrari was a definite positive for the team. I feel like we got the absolute most out of the car and that’s a good feeling.”

McLaren’s title defence remains under pressure

That optimism, however, came with a clear warning. McLaren, defending both the constructors’ and drivers’ championships after its 2025 success, remains third in the 2026 standings with 159 points after eight rounds. The team is 143 points behind Mercedes and 45 behind Ferrari.

The wider McLaren picture has been developing throughout the Austrian weekend, with Andrea Stella also urging the team to raise its development intensity after qualifying exposed the gap to Mercedes in this related analysis.

McLaren has yet to win a grand prix this season. Its four podiums — two each for Piastri and Lando Norris — underline a car capable of occasionally outperforming expectations, but not yet of delivering front-running pace every weekend.

No single weakness to fix

Austria also tightened the focus on McLaren’s internal contest. Piastri’s 12 points moved him to 80 in the drivers’ standings, one clear of Norris, who finished seventh and scored six.

Yet Piastri was careful not to frame fourth place as proof McLaren had solved its problem. Instead, he said the MCL40 simply needs more grip and performance across the board.

“However, we still need to find more pace if we want to be up there challenging the top three consistently,” he added.

“We don’t have a specific area of weakness; we just need more overall performance and grip to take that next step. We’ll keep chipping away at it, and we’ll focus on carrying this momentum into the next few races.”

For McLaren, Austria was a useful confirmation that execution can still deliver strong results. But Piastri’s message was equally clear: without a general step in car performance, beating Ferrari in Spielberg will remain an opportunity taken rather than a new competitive baseline.