McLaren explain what ‘caught us by surprise’ in Malaysia as Piastri reflects on where they stack up

McLaren have detailed what caught them “a little bit by surprise” on the first day of track action at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, with Oscar Piastri suggesting that the team appear to be a “tiny step behind” their rivals at the front.

After Piastri and Lando Norris ended FP1 in 11th and 12th on the timesheets respectively, the squad looked to have made progress during the second session as Norris climbed up to P3, while Piastri set the sixth-fastest time of the hour.

Reflecting back on Friday’s running later on, Piastri conceded that first practice had not been smooth sailing for the Woking-based outfit.

“We definitely looked better in FP2 than FP1,” the Australian explained. “FP1 we were struggling a lot, to be honest. Things seemed a bit more positive [in FP2].

“Obviously it was a bit of an interesting session because everyone was expecting rain and then we didn't get it, so I think the tyre choices and things like that were a little bit different to normal, but we seemed reasonable. I don't know what the long run pace was like really, but no, interesting first day.”

In terms of the McLaren’s prospects for Qualifying, Piastri predicted that there could be little to choose between the leading pack.

“I think it looks pretty, pretty close amongst the top four teams,” the 25-year-old said. “I think Red Bull have looked very strong through the day. I think Mercedes as well have looked strong at points and obviously Ferrari were pretty good then.

“So everyone's kind of had their turn being reasonably competitive. I think we're maybe a tiny step behind, but we made a lot of progress from FP1. So hopefully we can keep that trend going and we'll see where we end up.”

McLaren’s Senior Racing Director Randy Singh also gave his take on the team’s start in Malaysia and admitted that the conditions had posed a challenge.

“The track's a lot lower grip than we expected coming here, a lot rougher as well, so that caught us a little bit by surprise,” he explained.

“I think we struggled getting the car in a good window in FP1, but a lot of good work at the track, and at the factory, in FP2. I think the car is in a much better place.”

Quizzed on whether the papaya squad could be in the fight for pole position on Saturday, Singh answered: “I think we're just focused on doing the best we can with the package that we have and I think we've still got lots of potential to try and exploit, a lot of work left to do, so very hard to say at this stage.”