McLaren’s Oscar Piastri focused on closing the gap to Mercedes during unexpected Formula One layoff

SYDNEY – Oscar Piastri knows as well as anyone on the Formula One grid how quickly dominance can dissipate and is approaching his unexpected early-season furlough with some confidence that McLaren can challenge Mercedes when the racing resumes.

The Australian had a calamitous start to the season, crashing on his way to the grid in his home grand prix in Melbourne, then failing to start in China because of an electrical issue with his car.

In the third race in Japan, however, Piastri finished second behind Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli to give fans a timely reminder of the quality that last season had him 34 points clear in the title race after 15 rounds before a late slump.

The crisis in the Middle East has forced the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian grands prix off the schedule for now, leaving the F1 caravan grounded for the best part of a month, until racing resumes in Miami in early May.

Piastri, who turned 25 on April 6, views the pause in the season as an opportunity for his McLaren team to get to work figuring out how to close the gap with Mercedes, who have won all three grands prix and the China sprint so far in 2026.

“Obviously the off-season this year was very short, so it’s a nice little window for everyone to get some good training in,” he said in a video posted on social media this week.

“Just some more time to prepare, basically. I think we’ve learnt a lot in the first few races and still plenty more to learn, so just gives us more time to analyse stuff, sit down, digest it and try and come back stronger for Miami.”

Piastri, who is in his fourth season in F1, was on April 8 named as Australia’s top-earning sportsperson by the Sydney Morning Herald with an estimated income of between A$57 million and A$59 million (S$53 million).

His marketability soared in 2025 when he won seven of the first 15 races in the then-dominant McLaren and threatened to end Australia’s long wait for a world champion, which enters its 46th year this season.

In the end, the wins stopped coming and his teammate Lando Norris took the crown with Max Verstappen’s late-season surge for Red Bull relegating the Australian to third in the final standings.

It was a humbling experience for Piastri but one he has clearly learnt from as McLaren look to close the clear performance gap Mercedes have opened up under the new regulations this season.

“We know from last year that even when you have the best car, you still need to operate it at an incredibly high level,” he said, after holding off the Mercedes of George Russell at times in his run to the Suzuka podium.

“I think it’s interesting to see when someone else has the fastest car that it’s not that straightforward. I think the fact that I could keep George behind for so long was really encouraging, but we’re under no illusion.

“We did everything right this weekend and we still got beaten by 15 seconds, so we’ve got a pretty big gap to fill. I’m confident that we can get there, but yes, we’ve still got some work to do.”

Meanwhile, F1’s top technical minds got together on April 9 for the first of a series of meetings to discuss the sport’s new engine rules and what tweaks need to be made after three races.

Insiders expect energy management, the need to “lift and coast” and “super clipping” to dominate the initial agenda in London.

There is unlikely to be much immediate news from what will be an extended discussion over the next few weeks before any decisions, including likely software changes to the energy equation, are taken.

The new power units, split roughly 50-50 between electric and combustion power, have brought fresh challenges.

Drivers are having to tactically ease off the throttle early and coast into high-speed corners that would normally be a big test of bravery, so the combustion engine can recharge the battery.

“Super-clipping” is when energy is automatically diverted from engine to battery, with the effect of slowing a car on the straight even if the driver wants to be on full throttle.

In other news, Verstappen’s long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is to leave Red Bull and join McLaren in a supporting role to team principal Andrea Stella.

There was no immediate comment from either team on April 9 but senior insiders confirmed the move, first reported in Dutch media, to Reuters. The year 2028 was given as the likely start date for a man who has been working with Verstappen since 2016 and has played a key role in helping the Dutch driver to four world championships. REUTERS