McLaren fails to maximize tire advantage at Canadian GP

According to Motorsport.com, Oscar Piastri revealed McLaren ran out of time to capitalize on their tire management advantage at the Canadian GP — the usually dominant team struggled to find optimal performance.

Starting from third position behind George Russell and Max Verstappen, Piastri lost his position to Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli on the first lap. Despite tire performance improving towards the end of the two-stop race, it wasn’t enough to improve position.

“Our pace wasn’t great in the first stint on medium tires. We came into our own when everyone else was degrading, unfortunately we needed the race to be 100 laps, not 70 to take advantage of that,” explained Piastri.

Team principal Andrea Stella explained circuit characteristics became the main challenge — the track dominated by chicanes and hairpins lacked enough medium-speed corners where the MCL39 car excels.

The team’s focus now shifts to the upcoming Austrian GP — a circuit combining Montreal-like slow corners and flowing sectors in the second half of the lap will test whether the Canadian struggles were just a temporary setback.