Having put the disappointment of a lost World Championship behind him, Oscar Piastri is now fully focused on the 2026 Formula 1 season. The Australian driver has recharged his batteries back home and is ready to take on a campaign full of major changes. During a long media session held at the McLaren Technology Center, Oscar Piastri admitted that “in terms of performance we will still be very strong.”
In an extended meeting with the media at the McLaren Technology Center, Oscar Piastri reviewed the season that will begin in one month’s time in Melbourne, starting from the reflections that emerged during the winter break. Piastri remains one of the most difficult drivers to read, but he appeared particularly open and sincere when assessing his 2025 campaign as a whole, regardless of the final outcome.
“The final result wasn’t what I wanted, and in situations like that you can react in two ways: either let it bring you down, or recharge yourself with confidence and motivation for the future. The progress I showed last year compared to my first two seasons in Formula 1 was significant. I’m very proud above all of what I managed to do over several race weekends and, more generally, of what we achieved as a team.”
The winter break allowed him to return to Australia (“I hadn’t been back for a year, so it was great to see family and friends again”) and to reset mentally ahead of a crucial season for his status in Formula 1. The question many fans — and several insiders — are asking is which version of Oscar we will see at the start of the championship. If it is the one from the first half of the 2025 season, then the closing phase of last year will quickly become a distant memory.
Piastri also spoke at length about the feeling transmitted by the MCL40, a car born under the new regulations. His words reveal a driver intrigued by the challenge ahead: no nostalgia for a comfort zone, but rather a strong desire to push himself again and embrace change.
“Drivers have to reprogram their brains”
“What did I notice as soon as I left the garage? The engine sound, which is different from what I remembered, but that’s something you get used to immediately. Obviously you notice the smaller front wing, which is always positive because it gives you a sense of greater agility. But the biggest changes are in the driving and, above all, in the management of the power unit.”
The first point highlighted by Oscar Piastri concerns power delivery. “On corner exit you have a lot more power compared to last year, and we have to consider that aerodynamic load is lower and the tyres are narrower. So you have more power and less grip, and that will be one of the first challenges we’ll have to deal with.”
“There are also other aspects, such as clipping or lift and coast, which aren’t completely new concepts, but with this power unit they will have to be managed differently. More than learning something new, we’ll need to reprogram our brains a little and get used to new procedures. In the end, though, in terms of performance we will still be very strong.”
“Ground-effect cars were quite specific in the way they needed to be driven, especially on corner entry. This year I think we’ll have a bit more room to work with in terms of management, and that’s an interesting aspect. There was a lot of speculation about what the new cars would be like, from everyone, including us drivers. That’s why it was great to get on track at the Barcelona tests and discover that the new car behaves like a proper Formula 1 car.”
Oscar Piastri underlined how sharper power delivery combined with reduced aerodynamic load represents a new challenge. Drivers have an impressive ability to adapt, but the risk of making a mistake will inevitably increase.
“Battery usage will be crucial”
“With more power, it’s easier to be caught out. Even before we had plenty of horsepower, but in a scenario with less grip things happen more quickly and with less warning. In the wet it will be a challenge, and I think there will be several situations where battery usage will be crucial. Maybe there won’t be completely new scenarios, but the way we are required to manage many dynamics will change.”
Oscar also described the sensation he experienced when, for the first time, he opened both movable wings on the Barcelona straight. “It’s very similar to when we had DRS, but more pronounced. Up until last year there was a big shift in balance towards the front, whereas now you get a floating sensation, with a lack of grip on both axles. That said, the purpose of the current system is different from the original DRS.”
When it comes to evaluating the effectiveness of the ‘override’ mode, Oscar Piastri believes it is still too early. “In Barcelona I got close to a couple of cars and overtook them, noticing a fairly marked speed difference, but I think those drivers were also kind enough to let me through. I do expect slightly larger speed differentials during overtaking compared to what we had with DRS, but I don’t think we’ll see dangerous situations with cars travelling at very different speeds. It will be interesting to understand how the overtaking mode works as a whole, whether it can create some surprises and improve the spectacle of the races. But for that, I think we’ll have to wait until the Melbourne weekend.”
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