Oscar Piastri's Tough Start, Positive Outlook

0:00It's March 26th, F1 News Today starts now, AI-powered and game-ready. I'm Cory with the story. Oscar Piaestry kicked off the season with back-to-back non-starts at the Australian and Chinese Grand Prix, marking a tough beginning for the McLaren, driver, and Melbourne, a crash on the way to the grid, sidelineed him before the race even began. Then in Shanghai, a technical glitch forced his car back to the garage right before the formation lap, preventing him from competing. One week after Australia, both Piaestry and his teammate Lando Norris set out the China race due to separate issues on their cars. This double blow from McLaren highlighted early reliability woes for the team in 2026. Piaestry stayed positive, despite the setbacks, choosing to learn from the sidelines rather than dwell on frustration. He watched the races closely to study car performance and track dynamics, adapting his mindset to make the most of limited track time. During media dance, Azuka, the 24-year-old, joked about simply seeing the lights go out

1:02at the Japanese Grand Prix as a key goal. He's pleased with his qualifying pace so far, and feels comfortable with the new cars and rules. McLaren knows their behind Mercedes and Ferrari in the pecking order, so Piaestry is focusing on a clean weekend to build momentum, and finally, showcase his race pace on track.