"Two steps forward, one step back" – Oscar Piastri explains the route out of McLaren's car woes

Oscar Piastri has no skin in the game so far as the 2026 drivers' championship is concerned, but he reckons there is still plenty to fight for in the final rounds of the season.

One of the biggest priorities is to work on improving his performances at circuits where he has struggled historically; another is to understand the effects of the latest set of upgrades applied to his MCL40 and work towards making sure next year's car isn't as edgy to drive.

McLaren is applying its final update package of the season in stages, fitting a new front suspension geometry along with rear diffuser tweaks in the United States GP last weekend, with further elements coming as soon as they can be shipped. But while these changes are intended to raise the performance ceiling of the car, McLaren is yet to fully measure whether this is the case – and the fundamental issue of the MCL40 needing to be driven as if every lap is a qualifying lap remains.

"Definitely I do have to drive a lot differently now than what I've had to [previously]," he told media including Motorsport.com in Mexico City.

"It's been a big challenge, for sure. I think we will find a way.

"We have to find a way in the next few months. Hopefully it's not years, but obviously there's fundamental aspects of these cars that aren't going to change.

"It's been a challenging process to get through and there's been positive signs. Austin was definitely a bit of a step back, but at the moment sometimes you need to take two steps forward and one step back to find your feet and experiment with things. So, yeah, I think the triple header before Austin was a very good step in the right direction, but there's still room to go on top of that.

"We've got some more bits and pieces coming, but I think both of us [he and Lando Norris] at the moment are struggling with a car that's just very sensitive to a lot of things, not just bumps. The way you have to drive it, it's quite specific, and quite a narrow window. So naturally when you've got more things outside of that that make it tricky, like bumps or windy conditions, stuff like that, then it only adds to the challenge.

"The car is faster now than it was before Austin, but obviously our competitors are very quick as well, so we know we've still got ground to make up."

McLaren is still trying to understand the performance of its latest update, which included a new front suspension geometry

Photo by: Alex Slitz / Getty Images

Last year Piastri's championship challenge came unpicked during the final run of races on tracks with low-grip surfaces which tended to reward team-mate Lando Norris' more adaptable driving style – whereas Piastri tends to require a rhythm to build from lap to lap, with more consistent messages from the car. While McLaren's MCL40 started this year behind key competitors from Mercedes and McLaren in terms of downforce efficiency and slow-corner performance, aerodynamic upgrades put it in a window where it was arguably the best car through fast corners in the middle of the season.

But its performance in slow corners and an overall edginess have remained works spots that have been difficult to purge. Both drivers have defined the car as one that has to be driven aggressively to extract performance, though it has a disconcerting habit of biting back unpredictably.

"I think it's a combination of a lot of things," said Piastri when asked by Motorsport.com whether the car's sensitivity arises from the Mercedes power unit characteristics, design choices such as suspension geometry and the aerodynamic concept, or whether it is a consequence of the new rules mandating narrower cars with less downforce.

"The lower downforce definitely doesn't help. I think tyres as well.

You know, we've seen a lot of races this year where the soft tyres have been very good, even in the race. Just in general, the races have been much closer towards a qualifying driving style than we've had in the last few years, for sure. Everything is pointing towards having to drive the cars more aggressively.

"Trying to tread that line is very, very difficult. If it's a McLaren-specific thing, we'll find out next year, probably. But I think there's a lot of different factors that go into it.

"Tyres that were developed on last year's cars with compromises made – I think next year's tyres will be a little bit different, let's say, or they've certainly done a lot more testing on representative cars. So let's see if they change. But I think it comes from a few different areas and that all adds up."

In Mexico City last year Piastri finished fifth from eighth on the grid, losing the world championship lead to McLaren team-mate Lando Norris

While Piastri has long since been eliminated from the drivers' championship race, and Norris fell out of contention last weekend, McLaren has a fight on its hands to retain third place in the financially lucrative constructors' standings. It is currently equal on 355 points with Red Bull, but is ranked fourth on account of Red Bull having won more races, taking into account the Singapore sprint event.

Alongside this, understanding the latest upgrade package over final rounds should help McLaren finesse its 2027 car, which has been the full focus of attention since this upgrade package was signed off to production in early autumn.

"Obviously we want to try and stay ahead of Red Bull in the constructors' championship," said Piastri.

"But on top of that, everything is learning for next year, and hopefully we can come out with a car that's capable of fighting for a championship again, and I want to be able to go into next year with as many answers as I can, as many tools in my arsenal as I can.

"So that's kind of my big motivation, because for me personally there's not a huge amount to fight for at the moment – but in the context of future results, it's an important period."

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- The Motorsport.com Team