News Summary
- Oscar Piastri says McLaren’s current performance is insufficient to challenge for victories.
- The Australian finished sixth after changing tyres before the standing start.
- Andrea Stella believes sixth was the team’s maximum, even with perfect decisions.
Oscar Piastri acknowledged that McLaren is currently outside the fight for race wins after finishing sixth in the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The Australian left Sepang believing his own performance had been strong, but that the car lacked the speed needed to threaten the leading teams.
The assessment came after a chaotic afternoon in which changing conditions and Safety Car interruptions repeatedly altered the race. However, Piastri identified outright performance as McLaren’s central problem, rather than attributing the result entirely to its decisions.
Speaking after Sunday’s Formula 1 race, Piastri placed McLaren and Ferrari in a similar performance range while acknowledging that Red Bull had moved ahead.
“I think us and Ferrari seem a little bit in a similar ballpark. But that ballpark is not fighting for race wins,” Piastri said.
He added that McLaren understood the need to improve and would work to recover its competitiveness before the next round.
Piastri sees a significant step forward from Red Bull
Red Bull’s improvement over the last two weekends was a particular concern for Piastri. He linked its stronger performance to the developments introduced in Azerbaijan, where Verstappen had already challenged for victory despite a difficult qualifying session.
At Sepang, the Dutchman converted pole position into his first victory of the season, finishing ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton.
Piastri’s comparison with Ferrari concerned the cars’ underlying competitiveness. Ferrari nevertheless finished third and fourth, with both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc ahead of the Australian.
For McLaren, the result reinforced the need to respond to its rivals’ progress rather than rely on race circumstances to create opportunities.
Tyre change helps Piastri recover, but the pace is missing
Piastri abandoned McLaren’s initial medium-tyre choice and switched to intermediates before the standing start. The change helped him navigate the wet opening phase, while drivers who remained on slicks struggled for grip.
His performance improved on the hard tyres later in the race. He was closing on Leclerc before the late neutralisation interrupted that pursuit, removing an opportunity to continue reducing the gap.
The Australian ultimately finished sixth, ahead of Liam Lawson, while teammate Lando Norris took ninth after losing positions during the final Safety Car period.
The contrasting incidents did not change McLaren’s overall diagnosis: its car was not competitive enough to fight at the front.
Stella says sixth was McLaren’s maximum
Team principal Andrea Stella reached the same conclusion in McLaren’s post-race assessment. He rated the team’s package fourth in the competitive order and distinguished its performance limitations from the operational choices made during the afternoon.
“Even if we’d got every decision spot on, I don’t think we could have achieved any higher than Oscar’s sixth place,” Stella said.
Stella called for a detailed review of the last two rounds to understand how McLaren could recover the competitiveness it demonstrated around the summer break. He also identified Red Bull as a rival that had made significant progress.
The team now has only a few days to analyse Sepang before another race weekend. Singapore’s Sprint format will give McLaren less practice time to prepare its car and respond to the problems exposed in Malaysia.
Formula 1 returns next weekend, from 9–11 October, for the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay. GRANDE PRÊMIO will cover all the action.
F1 today: FAQ
Who won the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia?
Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang on Sunday, 4 October, taking his first victory of the 2026 F1 season. Kimi Antonelli finished second, with Lewis Hamilton completing the podium.
Why was the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia delayed?
Heavy rain initially delayed the start at Sepang. Several drivers then experienced power delivery problems during the formation procedure, forcing race control to suspend the start again. The race eventually began more than 90 minutes after its scheduled time.
How far ahead is Kimi Antonelli in the F1 championship?
Kimi Antonelli leads George Russell by 84 points after finishing second at Sepang while his Mercedes teammate retired. Antonelli has 320 points, Russell has 236 and Lewis Hamilton is third with 214.
