Source : ABC NEWS
Following a difficult weekend in Malaysia, Oscar Piastri is hoping McLaren will enjoy better results and have a more competitive car in Singapore.
Piastri finished sixth at last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, after his team sent him out on slick tyres in wet conditions to start the race, forcing the Australian into the pits as the race began.
The McLaren driver was able to fight his way back through the field, at times showing strong pace, but said sixth was the best result the team could hope for.
“We know we’ve not been as competitive as we would have liked the last couple of weekends,: Piastri said in Singapore ahead of this weekend’s racing.
“In Malaysia, I think sixth was more or less what we could’ve done.”
McLaren enjoyed a mid-season resurgence, with Piastri’s teammate claiming back-to-back wins in Hungary and the Netherlands.
Norris won those races from pole position, and then again was fastest in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix in September.
But the reigning constructors’ champions were not realistically in contention for wins, but did show promise at times.
It is that inconsistency during weekends which has hurt McLaren in 2026, and something Piastri is hoping can be improved to end the season, starting in Singapore.
“At certain points in [Malaysia], we looked very quick. On my second hard [tyre] stint, and Lando as well on his soft [tyre], we were more or less the quickest cars on the track at one point.
“It’s in line with the rest of the year — if you can get the car into the right window, it’s very quick.
“But we’ve struggled to get it there for a lot of the last two weekends. Hopefully we can make things a bit easier this weekend.”
Russell cops grid penalty, promises ‘all-out attack’
George Russell’s dream of a maiden F1 world title is hanging by a thread, after the Briton suffered a power unit failure with five laps remaining last weekend in Malaysia.
Following his retirement, Russell is now 84 points adrift of teammate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli, with a maximum of 183 points left in the championship.
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If Antonelli is able to outscore Russell by 16 or more points this weekend, then he can mathematically win the title as early as the following round in Austin, Texas.
To make matters worse for Russell, he will start Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix from the back of the grid, after being forced to take on new power unit components which exceed the yearly limit for a driver.
This comes directly on the back of last weekend’s power unit failure which ended his race early.
With an improbably steep mountain to climb to maintain a glimmer of hope in the title race, and starting from the back of the field for Sunday’s race, Russell has promised to throw everything at this weekend.
“All-out attack; just trying to enjoy the weekend,” he said.
“Obviously, if you could choose where to take the penalty in the season, this [track] would be probably the second bottom of the list after Monaco. But unfortunately, just with how things have panned out, we have no choice but to take it here.”
Antonelli started 19th for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza after taking on new power units, but drove one of the finest races in recent memory to claim a remarkable victory.
Hopes for Russell to replicate that are slim, with the Marina Bay street circuit tight, slow, and notoriously difficult to overtake on.
