Oscar Piastri has said there is “nothing magical” about where Mercedes has found its advantage in 2026, simply in grip and downforce levels.
The McLaren driver converted his first racing laps of the season into a podium at Suzuka last weekend, but having led the first half of the race, Kimi Antonelli gained track position under the Safety Car and was subsequently able to open up a 15-second gap come the chequered flag.
Oscar Piastri: Mercedes’ edge down to grip and downforce
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The Australian had an excellent launch at the start of the race, propelling him past both Mercedes drivers into Turn 1 and, with clean air, was able to hold onto the race lead until a well-timed Safety Car from Antonelli’s perspective allowed the young Italian to regain track position, and ultimately hold onto the win.
Piastri mentioned McLaren’s competitiveness in that first stint and believed, had he held onto the lead, he may have been able to hold onto victory himself last time out.
With Mercedes leading the field in all three rounds this season, though, the teams are set to use this April interlude to work on bringing new parts to their cars for the next stint of the campaign.
When asked if he could pinpoint where McLaren has been losing out to Mercedes, Piastri explained that, with the benefit of examining data, he concluded that beyond Mercedes’ better understanding of its own power unit and holding better downforce, there is no one key area where the W17 clearly stands out compared to the rest.
“I think just grip,” he said. “There’s nothing magical about it. They just have probably more downforce.
“I think they’re using the power unit probably a bit better than us at the moment, and it’s as simple as that, really, there’s no magic.
“The more helpful tool is definitely looking at the data, and we’re losing a bit everywhere.
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“There’s not really one area where we’re weak or one area that we’re strong in, it’s just a bit across the board, so I think just finding more downforce is our main opportunity.”
Ferrari had been able to dice with the Mercedes duo in the opening rounds of the season, with Piastri having been sat on the sidelines for two different reasons in Melbourne and Shanghai.
With those battles for the lead before George Russell and Kimi Antonelli could break clear, the McLaren driver wondered if the Scuderia’s cornering capabilities is even greater than Mercedes’.
Given that, he sees opportunities for McLaren to take inspiration from elsewhere, too.
“Ferrari is interesting as well, because I would say it almost looks like they’re better in the corners, but maybe a bit worse power unit, or drag,” he reasoned.
“China was quite interesting, and I think the way they’ve been able to battle with Mercedes is also quite interesting, because it’s not just pure qualifying pace [where] I think Mercedes have got a clear advantage over everybody, that the way that Ferrari are able to battle with them and contend with them at the start of races especially, is quite interesting to see.
“So, I think there’s inspiration in more than just one place.”
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