'A lot to learn': Piastri's sobering F1 admission

1 year ago 90

Australia's Oscar Piastri has made a solid, if unspectacular commencement to his clip astatine McLaren connected time 1 of Formula 1 pre-season investigating successful Bahrain.

Piastri's clip was 18th fastest of the 19 drivers, with the Melburnian mounting a champion of 1:34.888 from his 52 laps anterior to the luncheon break.

Teammate Lando Norris took implicit successful the day and was 5th with a clip of 1:33.462. Two-time satellite champion Max Verstappen was quickest successful 1:32.837.

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Little tin beryllium work into thigh times connected time 1 of testing, arsenic teams absorption much connected learning astir the caller car successful assorted conditions alternatively than outright speed.

"My archetypal greeting of investigating went beauteous smoothly which is simply a bully commencement to the season," Piastri said.

"We got done the programme we wanted to, which was great, with the absorption being connected getting myself backmost up to velocity and utilized to the caller procreation of F1 cars.

"There is inactive a batch to larn and improvements to marque but I deliberation I'm getting there. It was bully to get immoderate laps connected the committee and everything felt beauteous comfy. I'm looking guardant to my adjacent fewer sessions to support improving and learning much astir the car."

Piastri's composure drew praise from erstwhile F1 driver, present Sky Sports expert Anthony Davidson, who said the 21-year-old "looked wholly assured with what that car was throwing astatine him."

Norris completed 40 laps and pronounced himself "reasonably happy."

"It wasn't rather the smoothest of days with a fewer small setbacks present and there, but we got done a batch of the program and immoderate of the cardinal trial items, which we tin larn from implicit the adjacent fewer days arsenic good immoderate changes we tin already commencement to implement," helium said.

"I'm feeling much comfy successful the car and person changed small things present and determination to commencement to optimise a fewer things. As acold arsenic trial days go, it was affirmative and I'm looking guardant to going again tomorrow."

Team brag Andrea Stella conceded there were immoderate hiccups arsenic the car ran earnestly for the archetypal time.

"A productive time successful Bahrain which went mostly to plan," helium said.

"Despite a fewer precise insignificant issues, which are communal astatine testing, we've got a batch of accusation and were capable to implicit a batch of trial items. There were immoderate abbreviated delays caused by the squad wanting to reenforce the assemblage enactment successful immoderate places successful bid to forestall a failure.

"These were preventative measures, but we thought they were utile to marque truthful we could tally safely and reliably for the remainder of the day. Overall, a affirmative day."

For McLaren, it's a important betterment connected the debacle that was investigating successful Bahrain past year, erstwhile Daniel Ricciardo was forced to beryllium retired the trial owed to COVID-19, and a miscalculation meant the car cooked its brakes successful the godforsaken heat, severely restricting the fig of laps the squad could run.

Testing continues connected Friday and Saturday night, up of the opening contention of the play connected March 5.

DAY ONE TIMES:

1 - Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 1:32.837 (157 laps)

2 - Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 1:32.866 (60 laps)

3 - Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) - 1:33.253 (72 laps)

4 - Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 1:33.267 (64 laps)

5 - Lando Norris (McLaren) - 1:33.462 (40 laps)

6 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 1:33.508 (83 laps)

7 - Alex Albon (Williams) - 1:33.671 (74 laps)

8 - Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) - 1:33.723 (67 laps)

9 - George Russell (Mercedes) - 1:34.174 (69 laps)

10 - Logan Sargeant (Williams) - 1:34.324 (75 laps)

11 - Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) - 1:34.424 (51 laps)

12 - Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) - 1:34.558 (71 laps)

13 - Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri) - 1:34.559 (85 laps)

14 - Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin) - 1:34.564 (40 laps)

15 - Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) - 1:34.671 (46 laps)

16 - Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 1:34.822 (60 laps)

17 - Esteban Ocon (Alpine) - 1:34.871 (53 laps)

18 - Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 1:34.888 (52 laps)

19 - Kevin Magnussen (Haas) - 1:35.087 (57 laps)

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