Oscar Piastri has revealed that he must push the McLaren to its limits in order to extract performance from the car in the 2026 Formula 1 season. According to the Australian, the current model’s behavior makes it particularly difficult to find the sweet spot needed to be fast.
Piastri hasn’t stood on the podium since the Miami Grand Prix, a span of 17 races. Since then, across 15 race finishes, his average result stands at 7.1, while his teammate Lando Norris has claimed four pole positions and won three races, including the recent Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Australian explained that the car demands a far more aggressive approach at the wheel: “The best way to describe it is that you need to push the car a bit. It’s not a car that naturally does all the things you want,” he stated.
“It’s rare for a car to do everything you want, but it seems this year’s car, in particular, requires you to really drive at 100%, or what appears to be 110%, first to be fast, but also to make the car behave more in the way you want,” he added.
Despite the difficulties, Piastri believes there is potential in the package: “When you manage to push it to that limit, it has a lot of potential. It could be a car capable of winning races if you manage to hit it right, but finding that limit is incredibly tough,” he added.
This adaptation also marks a shift from the 2025 car. Piastri said he could read the reactions of the previous model more easily, which had natural speed and allowed for good lap times even without being constantly pushed to the limit: “With this car, as soon as you’re not at 100%, you lose a lot of time very quickly,” he added.
The challenge for Piastri comes in a tough season of adapting to the 2026-spec cars, smaller and lighter, which exhibit sharper movements in corners and require constant corrections at the wheel. Both he and Norris have also highlighted difficulties with the behavior of the MCL40 package.
