Piastri hopes 2026 challenge will prepare him for a future F1 car

Oscar Piastri hopes the effort of adapting to McLaren’s MCL40 will help him in a future Formula 1 car. In an interview in Austin ahead of the United States Grand Prix, after finishing fifth in Singapore, he described the adjustment as “tougher than I expected” and said he had changed or fine-tuned much of his driving.

He pointed to smaller cars and tyres he said were quite different. For his McLaren, Piastri said, he had to drive at the limit, at times beyond it while trying to salvage a situation. Learning to trust the car and where its limit lay had also been part of the process.

Piastri said he was beginning to make progress in the second half of 2026. At the time of the Austin interview, he saw the remaining races as another test of his developing skills; working through the difficulties, he said, could ultimately be rewarding.

He also measures success beyond results. When he is not in a position to win, Piastri said, improvement rather than perfection can make a weekend successful.