Martin Brundle: Oscar Piastri will return ‘with a vengeance’ in F1 2026

Oscar Piastri will be back “with a vengeance” for F1 2026, “having made a big step forward” from where he was last season.

That is the opinion expressed by former F1 driver turned pundit Martin Brundle, after Piastri saw what had been an impressive 2025 campaign and title challenge fizzle out, as McLaren teammate Lando Norris became World Champion for the first time.

Martin Brundle expects improved Oscar Piastri in F1 2026

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For large parts of the 2025 season, it looked as though we had a McLaren-exclusive title battle on our hands. Piastri was atop the Drivers’ Championship for much of the year, and after opening up a 34-point lead over Norris following the Dutch Grand Prix, the Aussie became clear favourite for the title.

But, a six-race podiumless run cost Piastri dearly. Norris gathered momentum, while a resurgent Max Verstappen threatened to pull off the most unlikely of title wins.

Piastri did re-find his form in the closing rounds, but could not prevent a P3 finish in the standings, as Norris took the crown, two points ahead of Verstappen.

Having had a shortened off-season to recharge, ahead of sampling the McLaren MCL40 for the first time in Barcelona, a much-improved Piastri, and a driver on a mission, will head into battle in F1 2026, so says Brundle.

Asked on Sky F1 whether he is backing Piastri to get the job done and win his maiden title in F1 2026, Brundle replied: “Yeah.

“I think he’ll come back with a vengeance, to be honest.

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“It was partly painful, partly brilliant for him, last year. He learned a lot. I think that it’s openly accepted that on the really low grip circuits, he’s not getting the best out of the car and out of the tyre. So he knows he’s got to fix that.

“But I mean, some of the victories he’s had were so dominant, so impressive, and I think he’ll take a lot from that, and I’m sure it’s painful in the end for him, and I think that will be a driver.

“We’ve observed him. He’s an incredibly bright lad, and he’s clearly competitive. He’s a worker. I think he’ll come back having made a big step forward.”

Piastri was back behind the wheel for McLaren on the morning of Day 5 in the Barcelona shakedown. The Aussie got his first taste of these all-new F1 machines on Thursday, though his running was impacted by a fuel systems issue.

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