Oscar Piastri was stunned by the blistering pace Mercedes displayed during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend. The McLaren driver found himself fiercely competing for a podium spot against Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton but ultimately finished in fifth place.
Piastri noted that his chances for a top-three finish dwindled as the race progressed, with Russell and Hamilton clearly showing their determination to move forward. ‘Pretty close until I got behind the Mercedes, and then I realized that they were on a mission,’ he said. ‘It would have been incredibly tough to keep them behind all the way to the end, especially being sort of the first car in the firing line for them. I tried my best to stay in front, but I think just on the new tyres they were clearly a lot quicker than everybody.’
The boost in Mercedes’ performance at Canada was attributed to a new front wing introduced at the Monaco Grand Prix, but its full potential was unleashed in Montreal. During practice and early qualifying, Mercedes demonstrated remarkable speed. ‘I think the fact that they were fast wasn’t a massive surprise. I think that they were so fast was,’ Piastri remarked. ‘In FP3, I think with Lewis’s [session topping] lap, we were scratching our heads. I think we worked out why after the session, but during the session, we were never going to get close to that. Even in Q2, when George did an 11.7 and I did a 12.1 or 12.2, I wasn’t going to find half a second. So, I think they’ve been very quick this weekend. I think they’ve switched on the tyres well. And I think you kind of saw on the inters that, that hurt them a little bit at certain points. So, yeah, it was maybe just a stronger weekend for them. But it wasn’t totally unexpected. I think Monaco, they looked very strong at certain points. And yeah, I think this weekend, they’ve been very strong.’
Despite his efforts, Piastri couldn’t hold off the Mercedes duo and even had a minor incident with Russell at the final chicane on lap 63, forcing Russell into the escape road. Reflecting on the incident, Piastri said, ‘I need to see it a bit more. I think it’s an incredibly tough corner to go two wide in. And, yeah, you need to be very brave to go around the outside. In the end, he got past anyway. So, I don’t think it really changed the result, but hopefully it was entertaining.’
Oscar Piastri’s candid reflections highlight the impressive strides Mercedes has made, showcasing their significant speed improvements. The Canadian Grand Prix proved that Mercedes is back in the mix, making the battle for podiums more thrilling than ever.
Source: Motorsport
