Piastri Upbeat as McLaren 'Homework' Pays Off in Austria

Oscar Piastri ended Friday practice at the Austrian Grand Prix on a positive note, taking second in FP2 after a third-place finish in the opening session. The McLaren driver said the team successfully worked through issues carried over from a muted fifth-place finish in Spain two weeks ago, though he acknowledged Mercedes and Kimi Antonelli remain a step ahead.

Why it matters:

• Piastri's subdued Barcelona result raised questions about McLaren's consistency, making a strong rebound in Austria essential.
• Despite losing significant FP1 track time to technical issues on both cars, McLaren recovered to place Piastri and Lando Norris in the top three in FP2.
• Antonelli swept both sessions for Mercedes, confirming the gap McLaren must close if it hopes to challenge for pole.

The Details:

• Piastri was third in FP1 and second in FP2, ending the day 0.237s behind Antonelli, who topped both Friday sessions.
• Norris was limited to seventh in FP1 after joining late due to technical problems, but bounced back to third in FP2, 0.325s off the benchmark.
• Antonelli set his headline time on just his second lap on soft tires, a feat Piastri called "quite impressive" and telling of the task ahead.
• Elsewhere: Max Verstappen was fourth in FP2 after a disrupted opening session for Red Bull, while Lewis Hamilton took fifth for Ferrari.

What's next:

• Saturday morning's final practice offers McLaren its last chance to refine its setup before qualifying later in the day.
• Piastri said the team "can't invent anything overnight," but expects gains from comparing data with Norris to optimize their approach.
• With Mercedes setting the pace, the fight for the front row is expected to be tight as the midfield battles to close the gap.