Oscar Piastri: Spanish Grand Prix was disappointing for McLaren

The Spanish Grand Prix served as a reality check for the McLaren Formula 1 team, according to driver Oscar Piastri.

McLaren's strong qualifying performance did not translate into race day success.

Despite a promising qualifying session with Lando Norris securing a surprising third place on the grid and Piastri starting in 10th (later moving up due to a penalty for Pierre Gasly), the race proved to be more challenging than anticipated.

Piastri dropped back to 13th, while Norris's race was hindered by contact with Lewis Hamilton on the first lap, leading to an early pit stop and ultimately a disappointing 17th-place finish.

The drivers had already cautioned that the car's performance in qualifying might not fully reflect its capabilities, and the race confirmed their concerns.

"Yeah, it was just a long afternoon," Piastri said.

"I just didn't have the pace to really do anything.

"Pretty poor first lap for myself as well, which didn't help things, but I don't think we really had the pace to stay in the points anyways.

"We'll have a look at why we struggled so much today compared to yesterday. I think we've got some good ideas already. But yeah, disappointing afternoon."