Piastri: McLaren 'Not Too Far Off' Mercedes Despite Inability to Win on Merit

Oscar Piastri has delivered a sobering but hopeful assessment of McLaren's current form, admitting the team cannot win Formula 1 races "on merit" right now while insisting they are "not too far off" from challenging Mercedes at the front.

After five rounds of the 2025 season, McLaren sits third in the constructors' championship, 113 points behind leaders Mercedes and 41 adrift of Ferrari in second. A series of operational setbacks — including three Did Not Starts from 16 potential sessions and a disastrous Canadian Grand Prix — have masked the team's underlying pace.

Why it matters:

McLaren's ability to close the gap to Mercedes will define whether they can re-enter title contention in 2025. Despite flashes of speed, consistency and race-day execution remain critical weaknesses, and Piastri's candid comments underline the work still needed to challenge the dominant Mercedes team.

The details:

• Both Piastri and Lando Norris started on intermediates in Montreal despite a drying track, a strategic misstep that derailed their race. Norris later retired with a gearbox failure, while Piastri earned a 10-second penalty for colliding with Alex Albon, finishing 11th.
• Despite the poor results, Piastri pointed to McLaren's major upgrade packages introduced in Miami and Canada as reason for optimism. His last grand prix win came at the 2025 Dutch GP, while Norris's victory in Sao Paulo remains the team's most recent triumph.
• Speaking to media including RacingNews365, Piastri said: "Mercedes were definitely still ahead, we could get close… it was a similar picture to Miami, which isn't a bad thing." He acknowledged the team needs to find more performance from both the car and the power unit.

What's next:

McLaren's development trajectory suggests they are closing the gap, but track position and reliability will be key. Piastri's confidence that the team is "not too far off" signals that, with continued upgrades and cleaner weekends, McLaren could soon return to winning ways — just not quite yet.