Piastri says McLaren 2026 car still needs adaptation
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 23, 2026
Piastri and McLaren
Oscar Piastri says McLaren is still working to help him adapt to the car he is driving this season, and he believes the team has not settled for a single answer. He said McLaren keeps chasing performance gains, keeps testing different approaches and has increased the technical support around him. Piastri said that backing matters because the right setup is not a fixed target. It can change from one weekend to the next. He described the work as ongoing rather than complete, and said McLaren is “not standing still.” That outlook fits the team’s wider push under the new regulations, where Piastri said the 2026-spec cars do not respond the way his previous machinery did. Techniques that worked in earlier seasons have been less effective, so McLaren has had to adjust the way it helps him find pace. Piastri said he feels supported by the engineering response, but he also made clear that the search for the right balance remains a moving target.
Piastri progress
Piastri said his own progress has been uneven, and that he is still building toward the level he wants. He said he is improving gradually, but the gap to teammate Lando Norris has been hard to close in 2025 after his early-season title push faded. Piastri finished eighth in the Spanish Grand Prix. He said the current package does not always reward the same inputs that worked before, and that has made consistency harder to find. Jolyon Palmer said the lack of a championship fight should give Piastri room to improve, and he suggested the driver may be less comfortable with the car’s handling, especially on low-grip tracks. Palmer also said that over three and a half Formula 1 seasons, only about half a year has looked championship-caliber for Piastri, with the rest of his time largely spent behind Norris. That view matched Piastri’s own message. He is working through the learning curve, but he is doing it in a car that still needs adjustment and in a team that still sees room to unlock more speed.
Baku and the past
Baku adds another layer to Piastri’s challenge. He called the circuit a “love-hate” track, and the memories around it cut both ways. Piastri won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku in 2024. He also had a difficult Azerbaijan Grand Prix last year after crashing on the opening lap. James Hinchcliffe said Piastri’s Azerbaijan weekend would be shaped more by last week’s disappointment than by the memory of the 2024 win, and he said Norris has found an extra gear while Piastri has not kept pace. Palmer added another layer by suggesting Piastri may be hoping for a reset next winter. For now, though, the pattern is clear. Piastri is asking McLaren for more help, McLaren is searching for answers and Baku arrives with a mix of confidence, frustration and unfinished business.
