McLaren say Piastri is 'the strongest he's ever been' despite tough 2026 start

The Aussie driver failed to start the first two races of the season, after a reconnaissance lap crash in Melbourne and electrical failure in Shanghai, but bounced back with a strong P2 finish in Japan last weekend.

Piastri was arguably unlucky to miss out on the win in Japan, taking the early lead and staying there whilst looking reasonably comfortable ahead of Mercedes and Ferrari before the Safety Car was brought out on Lap 22 following Ollie Bearman's crash.

For McLaren boss Stella, Piastri's performance at Suzuka was evidence that he is performing at his best level yet in F1, having led the Drivers' standings for most of 2025 and narrowly losing to teammate Lando Norris.

After the Grand Prix, Stella told media: "Despite Oscar not having started the two main races at the start of the 2026 season, based on what we have seen in testing, in practice, in qualifying, based on his overall attitude and mental strength, I think we are seeing the best version of Oscar, the strongest Oscar since he's been in F1.

Instead, Stella highlighted Piastri's ability to lead the Woking-based team through their difficult start, giving McLaren a much needed boost to help deliver a race-winning car in 2026.

The Italian boss also reflected on McLaren's strong performance in Suzuka, revealing a certain level of surprise within the team that a race win was actually on the cards.