Oscar Piastri hopeful of McLaren moving towards the front of the field after upgrades at Baku

McLaren endured a terrible start to their 2023 campaign, scoring no points in the opening two races before salvaging points in Australia. The British team sustained their worst start in the past 27 years this season.

Lando Norris was able to haul MCL60 into a points-paying position in Australia, but the late race chaos helped McLaren score a double-point finish. The mayhem at the final restart allowed home hero Oscar Piastri to score his first points.

After getting his maiden points under his belt, Piastri now looks forward to Baku, where McLaren are bringing in an upgrade package. The 22-year-old is confident that the changes for the next race in Baku will enable the team to close the gap with the teams ahead.

Piastri said:

"I think it’ll definitely help us to move closer to the front of the grid. I’m sure all the other teams have got upgrades of their own as well."

He added:

"And I think what we’ve got coming in Baku is a good step in what is a bigger plan throughout the rest of the season. So it’ll help a bit, definitely, and get us on the right track, I hope."

The rookie is aware that other teams will also be working hard to improve their car. He admitted that McLaren will have to take a bigger step forward relative to their competitors to make a difference. He said:

"But I think we are not underestimating that everyone else will probably have new parts as well, so we’ll see how much competitiveness we gain from that."

F1 Grand Prix of Australia

Oscar Piastri has impressed in his first three outings with the Papaya team. After retiring from his debut start, he showed strong pace in the Saudi Arabian GP. Outqualifying his teammate Lando Norris, he made his first Q3 appearance in his second start. On race day, he was the fastest of the two McLarens.

After an impressive outing in Jeddah, he followed it up by scoring points in his home race in Melbourne.

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Piastri believes F1 break an ideal time for Mclaren to reset

After the Australian GP, F1 took a four-week hiatus before reaching Azerbaijan. Piastri hopes that this interval will help the team reset and rebound from their horrid start to the season.

He added that it was the perfect time to reflect on the first three races of his career. He said:

"Yeah, I think, for me, it’s a nice opportunity to, I guess, look back at the first three races of my F1 career and digest what went well, what went not so well. And it’s a bit of a reset for the rest of the year. So, I think it’ll be nice for everyone."

"Obviously, you want to keep that momentum if you’re going well, it’s a good chance to reset if you’re not, so I think we’ll use it to our advantage."

With a huge points haul in Melbourne, McLaren currently stand fifth in the constructors' standings, four points ahead of their 2022 rivals Alpine.