McLaren has 'more to lose now' but 'opportunities' remain - Piastri

Oscar Piastri has pointed towards the stakes being higher for McLaren than before, following the raft of updates it has recently introduced.

The 23-year-old feels that on weekends with mixed and changeable weather conditions, the Woking squad now has "more to lose" than it used to, but remains assured the team will be competitive regardless.

The first day of the Canadian Grand Prix was hit with rapidly changing weather. A hail storm prior to FP1 made way for more stable conditions as the first session of the weekend developed, but the rain rolled back in soon into FP2.

With more of the same expected throughout the weekend, the Australian driver feels it will provide McLaren "opportunities" to get the better of rivals Ferrari and Red Bull.

“I think it also gives us opportunities,” Piastri explained when discussing the conditions in Montreal. “I think in the past we’ve generally been good in those kind of conditions, where it’s wet or where it’s quite mixed.

"But of course, now that we’re fighting at the front in normal conditions, it potentially gives us a bit more to lose and others not as much – but I’m confident that we’ll still be quick no matter the conditions.”

'Difficult' to know which team is fastest in Canada

Coming off the back of a heavily updated package and three consecutive strong weekends in dry conditions, the weather in Montreal throws somewhat of a spanner into the mix for McLaren.

And as such, the opening day of the Canadian Grand Prix was a topsy-turvy affair for the team. After Lando Norris topped FP1, with Piastri in sixth, the pair found themselves well down the order in FP2 - in P20 and P16 respectively.

The pair also earned trips to the stewards for missing the re-entry bollard at the final chicane in the second practice session. Norris avoided any further action, but Piastri received a warning for his incident.

That aside, the Australian driver felt that whilst there had been things the team had unearthed across the day, it was not to the degree he would have liked. However, he does believe it is difficult to establish the pecking order, given the varying conditions.

“I don’t know if enough is the word I would use, but we learnt a couple of things, I guess,” he remarked. “[It’s] just tricky to know…

“The track’s been resurfaced, so it was good to see what that’s like. It’s still quite bumpy in a few places, but I think overall it’s preserved the character of the track well, which is nice.

“We looked alright on the inters, [but it’s] hard to know otherwise. We were on the mediums when it was dry, so… It’s difficult to know where we sit, but I think everybody’s got the same question.”