Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Oscar Piastri has entered the Formula 1 record books for an unwanted reason after failing to start the opening two races of the 2026 season. The McLaren driver has become the first competitor in world championship history to record Did Not Start (DNS) results in the first two races of a season.
The sequence began at the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park Circuit, where Piastri crashed on his way to the grid before the race could begin. The incident prevented the home driver from taking the start in front of his local fans.
The situation repeated itself at the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit. Piastri’s car suffered an electrical issue related to the power unit, forcing mechanics to wheel the car away from the grid before the formation lap, resulting in another DNS.
As a result, Piastri has become the first of the 782 drivers who have competed in a world championship grand prix — across 1,151 races — to fail to start the first two events of a season.
A similar situation occurred in 1964 with Tony Maggs, who recorded DNS results in the Dutch and Belgian Grands Prix. However, that case differs because Maggs was not entered for the opening race of the season in Monaco.
Piastri’s consecutive DNS results also mirror a rare occurrence involving McLaren’s founder Bruce McLaren. The New Zealander suffered two DNS results in the 1969 United States and Mexican Grands Prix due to engine problems at Watkins Glen and fuel injection issues in Mexico.
McLaren’s difficulties in Shanghai extended beyond Piastri. Team-mate Lando Norris also failed to start the race after experiencing a separate electronic power unit issue while still in the garage.
The result marked the first DNS of Norris’ Formula 1 career on his 154th grand prix entry, leaving the British driver with 153 official race starts.
The Chinese Grand Prix also marked McLaren’s first double DNS since the 2005 United States Grand Prix, when Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya did not participate due to the Michelin tyre safety crisis at Indianapolis.
It also represented McLaren’s first consecutive DNS results since the 2017 Bahrain and Russian Grands Prix, when Stoffel Vandoorne and Fernando Alonso respectively failed to take the start due to technical issues.
The disappointing start to the season places additional pressure on McLaren to resolve its reliability problems before the championship continues with the upcoming rounds of the 2026 Formula 1 calendar.
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