Key Highlights
- Oscar Piastri says he misses the pressure of competing for the Formula 1 world championship.
- The McLaren driver is seventh in the standings, 94 points behind team-mate Lando Norris with three races remaining.
- Piastri says McLaren has made progress after struggling to understand its car and power unit under Formula 1’s new regulations.
Oscar Piastri misses Formula 1 championship pressure
Oscar Piastri says he misses the intensity of fighting for the Formula 1 world championship after a difficult season for McLaren. The Australian driver led the standings for much of last year and was involved in a season-long title battle with team-mate Lando Norris.
A late-season challenge from Red Bull driver Max Verstappen saw Piastri finish third in the championship. Norris secured the title, while Verstappen finished second.
This season has been markedly different for Piastri. The McLaren driver currently sits seventh in the drivers’ standings, 94 points behind Norris, with three races remaining.
Asked by RacingNews365 whether missing out on the championship had been a blow, Piastri said: “Yes and no,” he said when asked by RacingNews365 whether missing out on the title had been a blow. “I want to be in a championship fight every year if I can be, but also, it’s definitely a bit more relaxed this year. Obviously, we’re not wanting to be in this position, but there’s not quite the same stress.
“But that stress that you have in a championship fight is the feeling you want because it means you’re fighting for something that is what your goal is. I am missing that feeling this year for sure, and it adds a bit of extra intensity and things like that.
“But yeah, it’s not all… there are some things that are a little bit easier when you’re not in a championship.”
McLaren works to understand difficult 2026-specification car
McLaren has struggled to reproduce the pace it showed during the previous two seasons under Formula 1’s new regulations. The Woking-based team has, however, made a positive step in recent races, with Norris winning in Brazil.
Piastri said the biggest early challenge came from adapting to the new power unit, while the cars themselves were also smaller and produced less downforce.
“It was clear at the beginning of the season that they were going to be quite different, but mainly from the power unit side of things,” he said.
“The actual cars themselves are smaller, they have less downforce, so of course they’re always going to be different, but I think the first few races we were really occupied with the power unit and how to get the most out of that.
“After the first few races, and especially after they tweaked some of the rules, it became a bit more normal, and that’s when we really dug deep into what the car itself is like.
Piastri outlines McLaren’s gradual progress
Piastri said the McLaren was difficult to drive from the early stages of the season and that the team needed time to identify the changes required to improve its performance.
“It wasn’t that easy to drive, and it’s still not been easy to drive, even now. So, pretty early on, we identified that it was going to be challenging.Â
“It took us a while to understand exactly what needed to change, and then trying to actually change it is tough.
“But we’re making progress with it slowly, and that’s all we can keep trying to do. So yeah, that’s been the biggest thing. We recognised pretty early on that the car had some things that were tricky to manage.”
Why This Matters
Piastri’s comments highlight the contrast between competing for the Formula 1 title and recovering from a difficult technical transition. McLaren’s recent performance gains, including Norris’s victory in Brazil, suggest the team is making progress, but Piastri’s position in the standings shows how far his campaign has moved from last year’s championship fight. With three races remaining, McLaren’s continued development remains central to its efforts to return to the front of the field.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Oscar Piastri’s position in the Formula 1 standings?
Oscar Piastri is seventh in the drivers’ standings, 94 points behind his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, with three races remaining.
Who won last year’s Formula 1 world championship?
Lando Norris won the championship. Max Verstappen finished second and Oscar Piastri finished third.
Why has McLaren struggled this season?
McLaren has found it difficult to match its pace from the previous two seasons under Formula 1’s new regulations. Piastri said the team initially focused on extracting performance from the power unit before working more deeply on the car itself.
