Oscar Piastri has had a difficult 2026 season Oscar Piastri has conceded that getting to grips with Formula 1’s brand-new cars in 2026 has been “tougher than expected” amid a challenging campaign with McLaren. Piastri entered this season aiming to build upon an encouraging 2025, where, despite letting his long-time points lead slip with a late-season slump, he took seven victories. Oscar Piastri opens up on F1 2026 struggles But while McLaren’s competitive level has not been as high as it was at the end of the ground-effect era and, consequently, the team has been playing catch-up since this rules cycle began, Piastri himself has also not hit the same heights as he did last term. The Australian has three races to avoid a first winless season since 2023, while he has also not stood on the podium since round four. By comparison, teammate Lando Norris has logged three victories, leaving a 94-point gap between the McLaren drivers. “It’s been tough, definitely been tough,” Piastri admitted to F1.com. “As a team, we’ve not been as competitive as we would have wanted obviously and, I think for me, personally it’s been tougher than I expected with trying to get to grips with the car. “Obviously as a sport it’s been a very demanding year in terms of getting used to the power units as well. It’s definitely thrown in a lot of challenges, and I feel like I’ve had to change a lot of things in how I drive, or certainly tweak things.” Piastri’s smooth driving style has proven to be less compatible with the current cars than their predecessors, which comprised approximately 30 per cent more downforce. The nine-time F1 race winner’s strive to adapt has been complicated by both drivers’ admission that it is a challenge to drive McLaren’s MCL40 consistently on the limit. “The biggest thing has probably been the general driving style you have, or that you need, is quite different for this year’s car compared to previous years,” Piastri elucidated. “Even in previous years there’s been an element of adaptation and learning for that – sure – but I think [it’s been a] combination of a few different things this year. “Obviously, the cars are smaller, the tyres are quite different. It means you really have to drive the car on the edge all of the time – certainly our car, I don’t know what others think of it. “That’s been quite different. You’re always driving on the edge to an extent, but this year it’s really always taking you beyond the edge of trying to salvage things. “So, it’s felt quite different to previous [cars] and even a lot of the previous cars I’ve driven in general. That’s been quite an adaptation process and learning to trust the car and retrain what feels like the limit is never an easy thing to try and adapt. But hopefully I’m making progress.” However, Piastri believes the technical hurdles he has encountered in 2026 will serve him well in the future, when he expects McLaren to have a more competitive package. Asked whether, longer-term, some positives could emerge from this tough spell, Piastri replied: “I think so. You know, even some of the challenges from last year, they weren’t completely dissimilar to what I’ve got this year, and I feel like I’ve definitely made a lot of progress on that in general. “These last few races are definitely going to be another challenge in terms of testing where I’m at, in terms of developing those skills. Having that challenge has been tough, obviously, but getting through it, and then continuing to work on it, [is] ultimately going to be rewarding and [will] hopefully set me up for whatever car we get [down the line].”
Liked by Oliver Martin, Abigail Lewis
Liked by Oliver Martin, Abigail Lewis
Liked by Oliver Martin, Abigail Lewis
