Oscar Piastri ready to move on from Melbourne DNS as 2026 lessons continue

Oscar Piastri has sought to quickly move on from his DNS at his home race in Melbourne, with plenty to still get used to on 2026 machinery.

Piastri was understandably downcast after crashing out on a reconnaissance lap on the exit of Turn 4 at Albert Park, meaning he could not take his grid slot for his hometown race at the weekend.

Oscar Piastri reflects on Melbourne DNS and adapting to 2026 Formula 1 cars

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With only a short turnaround until the Chinese Grand Prix, Piastri said he has taken the opportunity to spend time with family and play padel alongside his Formula 1 duties, before heading to Shanghai for this weekend.

In taking a wider view of the situation, having been one of many drivers to have gone off in the final sector in drying conditions last year, Piastri pointed out he only has two fewer points than at this stage last year, despite acknowledging his crash being “a lot more embarrassing” this time around.

In the first instance, though, his collision reinforced the need to adapt to the current machinery – though he did what he could to maximise his weekend.

“I think there’s a lot of things we still need to get used to, a lot of things that don’t necessarily always operate quite the way you expect. So, yes, I think it is easier to be caught out,” he said in China.

“I’m fine, ready to get back into it. Obviously, it’s certainly not going to be my favourite moment of my career, but I think I still tried to learn as much as I could from from the race.

“I think up until that point, in a similar vein to Melbourne last year, I think through practice, through qualifying, we did things well.

“We executed the plan that we had well, I think we kind of realised that maybe the plan we had wasn’t necessarily the best, but I think we at least executed well. So there’s definitely positives to take in amongst last weekend, but in the start of last year, we’re two points worse off, even though it’s a lot more embarrassing – only two points worse off than I was at this point 12 months ago.”

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In something of an unusual twist of fate, Piastri was himself due to be a grid kid for Daniil Kvyat at Albert Park back in 2015, but similarly, he was unable to start the race.

The sight of Piastri’s empty place in the line-up for the national anthem was spread on social media, though his grid kid remained in place for the pre-race ceremony.

However, the McLaren driver confirmed he has since made contact with the youngster.

“I think he broke down on the way to the grid, but yes, same outcome,” Piastri said of Kvyat’s non-appearance in 2015.

“I didn’t get to meet the grid kid that I was supposed to have, unfortunately. I’ve made contact with him and sent him a video. Strange coincidence that 11 years later, the same outcome was there.”

Additional reporting by Mat Coch and Thomas Maher

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