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Oscar Piastri believes that the formidable pace George Russell displayed in Baku, combined with Mercedes' upcoming upgrades, will make the Silver Arrows virtually untouchable for their rivals throughout the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend.
Sepang is set to see the W17 receive just its second major upgrade package of the campaign. The Brackley outfit introduced their first substantial revisions in Canada back in May, after which they suffered several setbacks as their rivals made significant strides forward.
A week ago in Baku, however, Russell stormed to pole position with a massive 0.837-second cushion before going on to dominate the race on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Nevertheless, Piastri expects the circuit in Malaysia to play more to McLaren's strengths, though he stopped short of making any firm predictions for the weekend.
"I hope this track suits us a bit more than Baku. Yes, there are long straights here as well, but there are also high-speed corners, which have been our strong suit this year. On a personal level, I feel I have a better grasp of what it takes to unlock lap time from this car. "In the race [in Baku], it was clear we were lagging behind Mercedes and Red Bull. But I think things will be more suitable for us here. Where exactly we will stand? I don't know. "Mercedes are bringing upgrades, which isn't the best sign considering they were eight-tenths clear on pole last week. Let's wait and see. But I reckon we'll be in better shape here. Personally, I'm feeling happier—not with the final result last week, but overall," Piastri said ahead of the race weekend outside Kuala Lumpur.
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