McLaren's Stella admits Oscar Piastri is 'on the back foot' after double DNS to start 2026

McLaren's Oscar Piastri has been forced to watch the start of the 2026 season from the sidelines, failing to make the grid in both the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix due to a crash and a technical failure. Team Principal Andrea Stella admits the lack of racing laps has put the Australian at a disadvantage in a critical learning year with new regulations, though he highlights strong intra-team collaboration as a mitigating factor.

Why it matters:

The 2026 season introduces sweeping new technical and power unit regulations, making every lap of track time—especially in race conditions—invaluable for driver adaptation. Piastri's double DNS means he has missed up to 114 laps of potential learning compared to his rivals, a significant deficit when understanding energy management and car behavior is paramount. His ability to catch up could be crucial for McLaren's constructors' championship ambitions.

The details:

• A Frustrating Start: Piastri's only racing laps in 2026 came during the 19-lap Sprint in Shanghai. His race weekend in Melbourne ended with a crash on the way to the grid, and a technical issue prevented him from starting the Chinese Grand Prix.
• The Learning Deficit: Stella emphasized that with new rules requiring drivers to manage electrical energy shortages for propulsion, "the race itself is the most important situation to learn." Piastri is consequently playing catch-up on this practical knowledge.
• Team Collaboration as a Buffer: Stella pointed to a silver lining in the strengthened collaboration between Piastri and teammate Lando Norris. The pair are reportedly sharing information and learning from each other's data more than ever before.
  • Stella noted that during the China race, he was with both drivers who were actively learning by commenting on Norris's on-track battle.
• Driver's Mindset: When asked if this was his most frustrating F1 start, Piastri focused on the future. "All you can do is look at what is coming in the future... there’s just so many things to try and understand with these cars, with these power units, and that’s what we’re trying to put our energy into," he stated.

What's next:

The immediate focus for Piastri and McLaren is maximizing track time at the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix and beyond. While the missed experience is a tangible setback, the team's internal data-sharing framework provides a pathway for accelerated learning. Piastri's performance in Suzuka will be an early indicator of how effectively he can overcome this unconventional and challenging start to the new regulatory era.