Piastri on McLaren's double DNS: 'Not a huge surprise' with new regs

Both McLarens failed to start the Chinese Grand Prix due to separate electrical issues with their Mercedes power units, marking a disastrous weekend for the team. Oscar Piastri, who also failed to start his home race in Australia, described the double failure as disappointing but "not a huge surprise" given the fresh challenges of F1's new 2026 technical regulations.

Why it matters:

A double Did Not Start (DNS) is a catastrophic operational failure for any top F1 team, especially one like McLaren that has shown strong performance potential. Coming just one week after Piastri's crash on the way to the grid in Melbourne, it highlights severe early-season reliability struggles that could derail their championship ambitions before they even begin, underscoring the immense challenge of mastering new regulations.

The details:

• The issues struck separately on each car just moments before the race. Lando Norris's car never left the garage, while Piastri's problem was only discovered after he had completed his sighting lap and was on the grid.
• Piastri confirmed both failures were electrical issues related to the Mercedes power unit but were different specific problems, ruling out a single-point failure for the team.
• For Piastri, this continues a brutal start to 2026; he is yet to actually start a race after his Australian GP crash.
• The Australian driver's reaction was one of resigned pragmatism, joking about his unwanted streak of watching races from home: "It's been a while since I've watched two grands prix on TV."

What's next:

McLaren faces a critical investigation to identify and rectify the root causes of these disparate electrical faults. With the season still in its infancy, the team cannot afford repeated zero-point weekends if they aim to compete at the front. The pressure is now on their engineering department to deliver immediate solutions and prove they can harness the potential of the new regulations reliably, starting at the next race.