Oscar Piastri was unable to complete his planned running after his McLaren encountered problems during the afternoon of the second day of Formula 1 testing in Barcelona.
The Australian made his first appearance in the MCL40 after handing over driving duties to his team-mate on the opening day. However, his McLaren ran into issues during the afternoon session of the Barcelona F1 test and was unable to return to the track. As a result, the team missed the opportunity to accumulate valuable mileage at a crucial stage of the 2026 season.
The Woking-based squad will be back on track tomorrow to complete its three allocated test days before turning its attention to Bahrain. The main focus of these sessions has been to observe the behaviour of the car and gather the first indications on reliability. The opening day, with Lando Norris at the wheel, passed without any issues, but the situation changed on day two, with Oscar Piastri forced to end his work early at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
McLaren stuck in the garage in Barcelona
Oscar Piastri completed 48 laps, equivalent to around 223 kilometres, before being unable to return to the track in the afternoon. McLaren encountered its first technical issues related to the MCL40 during the Barcelona test, forcing the team to investigate the problem in detail and leaving the car stationary for half of the day.
Despite the setback, the team was still able to gather useful information for the development of the project, although there was clear frustration at losing valuable track time. Technical Director Mark Temple explained the reasons behind the stoppage.
“It’s a shame not to have been able to run in the afternoon, because every minute on track is precious at such an early stage of the season,” Temple said. “We discovered an issue with the fuel system, which meant we were unable to complete all the laps we had planned. The car is very complex, so we decided to bring it back into the garage and strip it down to fully understand where the problem is coming from, ahead of tomorrow’s running.”
Friday will be the final test day available for all teams that have not yet completed their three days on track. Only then will it become clear whether the issue has been fully resolved or if it could reappear. In any case, McLaren can still take away some positive elements from the feedback gathered on track.
“The behaviour and handling of the car are in line with our expectations, so nothing has caught the drivers by surprise,” Temple added. “It’s just about learning and becoming familiar with the car, and then, as we get more time, we’ll look to make changes or fine-tune the setup.”
First laps for Oscar Piastri in the MCL40
The Australian finally took the wheel of McLaren’s 2026 car, a crucial step in getting used to the new way of managing the power unit and gaining an initial understanding of the chassis behaviour. Losing half a day of running was clearly not ideal for Oscar Piastri, who is still building familiarity with the new machinery.
“These cars are completely different from what we’ve had in recent years,” Oscar Piastri said. “That’s part of the purpose of this test. We’ve already identified some areas where we can improve to make it a bit nicer to drive.”
Piastri’s work is not finished, however, as he will return to the cockpit of the MCL40 on the final day of testing. “Tomorrow we have another day of running,” he added. “We’ll continue getting used to the car and properly understanding the different sensations it gives. Then we’ll find the right direction to make it faster and more enjoyable to drive.”
Despite the issue encountered, Oscar Piastri was keen to underline the positive mindset within the team. “It was great to be back on track today, especially with the new car. We had a fuel system issue that shortened our day, but the team is working hard to fix it and get us back out tomorrow,” the #81 concluded.
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