Russell accused of making 'far-fetched' McLaren statement by Piastri

Oscar Piastri has labelled George Russell's claim regarding McLaren's current F1 advantage as a “far-fetched” statement.

McLaren displayed stunning pace during qualifying in Australia last weekend with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri locking out the front row with a significant gap to rival cars behind.

The duo built up a healthy advantage to the field in intermediate conditions before safety car interruptions closed the field up.

McLaren's pace led Russell to declare that its speed advantage over the field is greater than Red Bull's has ever been - including the 2023 season when it won 21 out of the 22 races staged.

On the build-up to the Chinese Grand Prix, Russell's claim was put to Piastri, as was team-mate Norris' assessment that the car's behaviour was posing a problem during the race.

When asked which of the statements was true, Piastri told media including RacingNews365: “I think one of those statements is pretty far-fetched. I'll let you decide which one!

“Clearly our car was very strong in Melbourne. There's no denying that. We got it to a place where it was also handling well.

“We’re racing drivers, we’re never going to have everything we want. But I think it was clear that in all the conditions in Melbourne, our car was very strong.

“George, he has come up with some funny things in the last couple of weeks.”

Piastri: McLaren not expecting Australia repeat at every track

Piastri looked to be on course for, at minimum, a podium result on home soil before slipping down the pecking order following a mistake in wet conditions.

McLaren entered the Australian event as favourites following a strong pre-season test as it aimed to continue the momentum of its constructors' championship-winning achievement last year.

While it was able to showcase strong pace at the opening round, Piastri asserted McLaren is not expecting it to be a regular occurrence going forward.

“It’s just one race, it’s been a track that's been competitive for us the last couple of years, even when our car wasn't as even more dominant than a Red Bull,” he said.

“We’ll go to different tracks where we'll struggle more, that’s for sure. So if he wants to write off his season after the first week, then I'll let him do that.

“But I think we're very aware that Melbourne was an exceptional weekend rather than what we're expecting to be the norm.”