McLaren faced a turbulent start to the 2026 Formula 1 season but found in Oscar Piastri a decisive factor to react. The team principal, Andrea Stella, highlighted the Australian’s ‘charismatic leadership’ as a key element to keep the team motivated after a series of problems.
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In the first three rounds of the championship, the team had three situations where they could not start, compromising the start of the year. Piastri suffered an accident on the way to the grid at the Australian GP, while he and his teammate, Lando Norris, could not start in China due to electronic failures in the power unit.
Despite the complicated scenario, Piastri showed recovery at the Japanese GP. The Australian qualified third and took the lead of the race, managing to defend against George Russell of Mercedes before the safety car’s deployment changed the course of the race. With the strategy favoring Kimi Antonelli, also from Mercedes, Piastri finished the race in second position.
The Australian driver has stood out for the way he dealt with adversity. Stella highlighted the young driver’s attitude in the face of difficulties: “If there is one thing we saw, it was his consistency and strength, which he managed to convey to the team,” said the manager.
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Stella also highlighted the impact of Piastri’s behavior on the internal environment of the team: “The team draws a lot of inspiration from his charismatic leadership, something that drivers can offer, and that certainly was a boost for everyone during adversity,” he said.
Even with the recovery, the manager acknowledged that McLaren still needs to evolve to compete for wins more regularly: “Now it is McLaren’s responsibility to provide Lando and Oscar with a car capable of fighting for wins,” he added.
Stella also indicated that the team is already working on improvements for the upcoming races: “If we want to be in this position consistently in the future, we need to improve the chassis by a few tenths of a second. That is the goal with the updates we plan for the next rounds,” concluded the British team principal.
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