Oscar Piastri weighs up McLaren win chances after tough season start

Oscar Piastri believes McLaren will be back in contention for race wins this season, after what he admits was “a trickier start to the season than we wanted.”

Piastri took to the race start for the first time in 2026 in Japan, after a reconnaissance-lap crash in Melbourne before en electrical issue forced both he and Lando Norris out of the Chinese Grand Prix before it began.

Oscar Piastri backs McLaren to return to winning ways

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Piastri took the lead at the start at Suzuka and held the lead through the first half of the race, which came undone when an ill-timed Safety Car allowed Kimi Antonelli to pit cheaply, meaning he could keep the lead when the race restarted.

Still, it was a second place for Piastri, who joked on team radio after the race that “[it] turns out when we start these things, we’re pretty good”.

He had a 15-second gap behind Antonelli to the line, however, but that may not have been the case had the Safety Car not come into play.

With McLaren having entered the season as back-to-back Constructors’ champions, Piastri remains hopeful that the team can get back to winning ways as the season develops.

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Having admitted “we’d be lying if we said we hadn’t hoped to be closer to the front” at this stage, Piastri has backed his team to be among the forefront as the season progresses.

“I’m confident in this team that we’ll be back fighting consistently for wins this season,” the Australian told McLaren’s official website.

“In Round 3, whilst there was still a gap at the end, we were able to push the boundaries of our initial expectations and, without the Safety Car, could have genuinely been in contention for the win.

“We have a lot of work to do to be back at the front consistently, but closing the gap to Mercedes and out-developing the field is something that’s within our control.

“This team have proven how we’re able to turn things around, and we’re starting in a stronger position than we have in previous examples of this, such as 2024.

“I have complete trust that the team will do everything they can to get us there and I am genuinely excited to see what we can achieve.”

“We knew that Mercedes and Ferrari were going to be strong this year but I think we made a positive step in Japan,” he added.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do if we want to be at the front, but I know this team has the ability to develop across the year and I look forward to seeing what we can do when we go racing again.”

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