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Piastri is F1’s newest race winner after breaking his duck at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
It came after he’d been knocking on the door for some time, with strong performances at the Miami, Emilia Romagna, Monaco, Austrian, and British Grands Prix.
He is the second-highest points scorer in the eight-race run from Miami, behind only Max Verstappen, and he is only 32 points back from team-mate Lando Norris in the F1 summer break.
In addition to the headline performances, there has been strong fundamental growth, with his results in Hungary and Belgium demonstrating his progress as a driver.
“I think I’ve made good progress on things that I wanted to improve from last year,” Piastri told Speedcafe.
“Some of the goals I had from the end of last season, I think I’ve done a good job of tackling and made clear steps in some of those areas – I would say all of those areas.
“There’s still of course room for improvement to go, but I think it’s been a good step forward.”
Heading into the year, Piastri had identified race and tyre management as areas of focus – the former a critical skill in F1 that can only be learned in battle.
His win in Hungary was clear evidence of those steps.
Having faded in last year’s race, his pace remained strong throughout this year’s encounter in a drive deserving of victory.
Of course, that was aided by a car that is inherently more competitive than he had a year ago, affording him the opportunity to compete for improved results.
“I think the big thing has been largely positive, from both a team point of view, and from a personal point of view,” Piastri said of the opening 14 races of the year.
“The team have given Lando and I a car that’s capable of winning races.
“The biggest positive obviously is that we’ve thrust ourselves into contention with a car that’s incredibly quick.
“That’s really the biggest thing.”
McLaren is second in the constructors’ championship, just 42 points down on Red Bull Racing with 10 races remaining.
The squad has reeled in over 70 points in recent races, courtesy of having both Norris and Piastri running at the pointy end.
Always his own harshest critic, Piastri was quick to highlight the areas where he felt something was left on the table – some of which were in his or the team’s control, and some where he was a victim of circumstance.
“There’s kind of the feeling of a few missed opportunities with some things that were out of our control,” he confessed.
“Like Miami (a performance he rates among his best but where a Safety Car cost him a chance of a stronger result), the track limits in Austria – I mean, technically that one was in my control, but it wasn’t really given how it was deleted.
“And then a few that were in our control, Silverstone being the most recent one; Canada a little bit, to an extent Imola with the qualifying penalty.
“So I think largely positive,” he reflected on his season so car.
“But I feel like there’s potential to do even better, which is obviously a very exciting position to be in.”
F1 returns following its current hiatus with the Dutch Grand Prix on August 23-25.
