Piastri sees no quick fix for McLaren’s 2026 car

Oscar Piastri sees no quick fix to bring McLaren’s MCL40 fundamentally closer to his preferences this year. He said the car’s short-term level is probably as good as it will get, with no “magic answers” for the rest of 2026.

Piastri described the Malaysia weekend as another step forward in understanding what he needs to do in the car. He said adapting that way is becoming more intuitive and taking less effort.

He also said he had been performing much better over the recent race weekends in Azerbaijan and Sepang. Piastri described his first stint in Baku and the middle stint in Malaysia as very strong, but said the car still was not as comfortable as he wanted. McLaren team boss Andrea Stella has promised late-season 2026 upgrades to increase learning for the 2027 MCL41.