Piastri low on confidence ahead of his first Chinese Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri thinks his first Grand Prix in China will be a difficult one. With the low-speed corners, the McLaren driver does not see much chance of being competitive. The British team have started the season well and are ahead of their engine suppliers, Mercedes. Lando Norris even managed to qualify on the second row in Japan however, the Piastri is predicting a different picture this time around.

Piastri's first time in China

The 23-year-old Australian will take to the Shanghai circuit for the first time this weekend, but he does not expect a competitive weekend. "If we could draw a track for McLaren, it probably wouldn't look like this," he said. Nevertheless, Piastri is looking forward to it. "My first proper time experiencing it is going to be on the real track. Some tough corners that are not very common like turn one onto the back straight as well, which will be difficult to get used to."

With also the first sprint race this weekend, Piastri does see an opportunity for himself. "I can’t speak from firsthand experience. I think given that nobody has been here for the past five years, it’s difficult for everybody and also given that the teams not coming here with these regulations of cars, it makes life tough for them," Piastri said. The driver also agrees with the fact that it's more of a level playing field because teams haven't visited China with the current car regulations.