Oscar Piastri Under Pressure Ahead of F1 2026

Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Oscar Piastri of McLaren heads into the 2026 Formula 1 season carrying significant lessons from a 2025 title campaign that slipped away despite an extended period at the top of the championship standings. Managing internal pressure and maintaining consistency against direct rivals now stand as his primary focus.

Piastri’s advantage appeared firmly established after the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix, where he held a substantial points lead over team-mate Lando Norris and Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing. However, a strategic team decision at the Italian Grand Prix, which required Piastri to cede position to Norris following a slow pit stop, proved a pivotal psychological moment that disrupted his momentum.

That shift was compounded by a damaging weekend at Azerbaijan, where errors across qualifying and the race eliminated any opportunity for recovery. From that point, the championship trajectory changed markedly, with Norris and Verstappen capitalising on cleaner execution and stronger race management during the decisive phase of the season.

Across the six rounds from Azerbaijan to Las Vegas, Piastri recorded a sequence of non-podium finishes, sprint race retirements, and a technical disqualification due to excessive plank wear. In contrast, Norris and Verstappen consistently extracted points, leveraging stable car performance, tyre management, and operational precision as the competitive margins narrowed.

“I think those are better questions for Lando,” Piastri said when asked about Norris’s comeback and his status as world champion. “The second half of his season was very strong, and he was a deserving champion.”

“For me, there were a lot of things that happened in the second half of the season that you wouldn’t wish for from many different angles,” he added. “That is the main lesson, because there are many aspects of my own campaign that I need to improve.”

Beyond his internal review, Piastri also highlighted Verstappen’s late-season resurgence with Red Bull as a key reference point. The Dutch driver overturned a significant points deficit through consistent execution, decisive strategy calls, and full exploitation of the team’s technical package across the final nine races.

As the 2026 season approaches, Piastri’s challenge is to convert those lessons into sustained performance from the opening rounds, particularly within McLaren’s intra-team dynamics and the heightened pressure of a renewed title bid. That approach will be critical as Formula 1 enters the early phase of the next calendar, where early momentum increasingly shapes the direction of the championship.