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Oscar Piastri

Piastri saw McLaren progress at Sepang, but more work remained

Archive photograph: Oscar Piastri · 2026-03-15Archive photo · 2026-03-15 · Liauzh · CC BY 4.0

Oscar Piastri saw progress for McLaren between Friday’s practice sessions at Sepang, while saying the team still had more to find. McLaren’s report listed him sixth in FP2 and noted challenges with grip and tyre degradation. Piastri later said the circuit exposed challenges in extracting time from the car. He finished sixth in the race; Lando Norris was ninth.

From the GPBeat newsroomPublished · · 1 min

Oscar Piastri said McLaren had made progress between Friday’s practice sessions at Sepang and hoped the upward trend would continue. His comments also reflected caution: he said the team still had more to find.

McLaren’s practice report listed Piastri 11th in FP1 and sixth in FP2. The team said it still had unknowns and room for improvement, while Piastri described grip and tyre degradation as challenging.

Piastri’s later assessment of qualifying was more guarded. He said Sepang exposed challenges for McLaren in extracting time from the car.

Piastri finished sixth in the race and Norris ninth, according to the results table.

Sources 05
  1. SOURCEOscar Piastri hopeful McLaren 'takes its turn' in jumbled Sepang pecking orderRacingNews365 English
  2. PRIMARY SOURCE2026 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX IN MALAYSIA - PRACTICE REPORTGetting to grips with Sepang – McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team makes progress in MalaysiaMcLaren F1 · Team statement; interested source
  3. SOURCEOscar Piastri claims McLaren challenge 'exposed' by 'brutal' MalaysiaRacingNews365 English
  4. SOURCE2026 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia results - Sepang International CircuitRacingNews365 English
  5. SOURCELando Norris voices 'hurt' over major McLaren weakness in MalaysiaRacingNews365 English
Source context

Piastri’s Friday remarks express his outlook and assessment, not a confirmed competitive ranking. McLaren’s practice account is the team’s own report. His later qualifying comments describe the challenge as he saw it and do not establish a technical cause.