"You can separate them from Aston for this" - F1 pundit pinpoints what allowed McLaren to stay ahead of Aston Martin

F1 pundit Ben Anderson has claimed that McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri's brilliant performance allowed the team to stay ahead of Aston Martin, where Lance Stroll was unable to keep up with his teammate Fernando Alonso. McLaren finished in fourth, a position Anderson feels Aston should have ended up in.

The F1 pundit initially stated that one of the massive differences between the two teams was how brilliantly Piastri performed in his first season in F1. Anderson also compared Piastri's performance to that of Stroll, who was not able to bag quite as many points as his Aston Martin teammate Alonso.

"I think that's the other thing that makes a big difference for McLaren, and again, you can separate them slightly further from Aston for this. The second driver contributed a lot more [in McLaren], even though that second driver was in his first year in Formula 1, whereas Lance Stroll didn't maximize the Aston when it was at it's best," Anderson said on The Race F1 podcast.

Anderson went on to add that Aston Martin should have finished fourth in the constructors' championship, but instead, it lost the place to McLaren.

"He [Stroll] did not have an awful season, but he scored far few too many points compared to Alonso. And Aston really should have been fourth in the championship instead of McLaren I think, considering where they started the season," he added.

Piastri secured ninth place in the drivers' championship with 97 points, becoming the driver to score the second-most points in his rookie season. On the other hand, Stroll finished 10th with 74 points.

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McLaren star takes a savage dig at Aston Martin's development in 2023

After the 2023 F1 US GP, where McLaren overtook Aston Martin to secure fourth place, Lando Norris took a slight jibe at his rival team.

In the post-race conference, Norris talked about how his team is in a good rhythm but quickly mentioned how Aston Martin has been developing its car such that it is becoming slower and slower.

"It's our target. I think we're in a we're in a good rhythm. It's been clear that Aston… I don't know, they seem to have managed to make the car slower and slower with every upgrade that they’ve bought… They have! I mean they were racing Aston in the beginning of the year and I don't know where they finished today," Norris stated.

In the 2023 F1 US GP, Norris finished second while Lance Stroll managed to place his AMR23 in seventh.