F1 icon: What Piastri must fix to remain a threat in 2026

Oscar Piastri has been tipped to “come back with a vengeance” in 2026 after the highs and lows of the past 12 months.

F1 legend Martin Brundle has backed the Australian to use the pain of 2025 to further his success as he prepares for a fourth season in the topflight of the sport.

Having led the Drivers’ Championship for the vast majority of the season, Piastri’s run of form with McLaren came crashing down in early September with a disastrous outing at Baku which was compounded by a controversial team orders positional switch at Monza in the following race.

A 34-point lead on his teammate Lando Norris and more than 100-point advantage on third place Max Verstappen slowly dwindled before a double McLaren disqualification in Las Vegas saw Piastri become the underdog in a three-driver race for the title.

Ultimately, he finished the season third with Norris crowned champion in the final race of the year.

Moreover, there was relentless speculation that Piastri was falling victim to preferential treatment towards Norris behind closed doors at McLaren. Rumours of a rift and the possibility of a new team dominated the headlines for months, only adding to the pressure on the 24-year-old.

Having come through such adversity, Brundle identified the obvious issue Piastri needs to address and backed him to be a huge threat under the port’s new rules this season.

"I think he’ll come back with a vengeance, to be honest," Brundle told Sky Sports F1. "It was partly painful, partly brilliant for him last year. He learned a lot.

“I think that it’s openly accepted that on the really low-grip circuits, he’s not getting the best out of the car and out of the tyre, so he knows he’s got to fix that.

"But some of the victories he’s had were so dominant, so impressive. I think he’ll take a lot from that. I’m sure it was painful in the end for him and I think that will be a driver (this season).

"We’ve observed him. He’s an incredibly bright lad and he’s clearly competitive. He’s a worker. I think he’ll come back having made a big step forward."

McLaren will unveil their MCL40 car for the forthcoming season on February 9 before heading to Bahrain for the final two weekends of pre-season testing.

This season brings with it significant rule changes which will challenge some teams and drivers more than others.

For Piastri he sees it as a distinct advantage given he has never worked through a regulation change of such significance in his career.

"I'm just trying to get a better feel for what the car is like, it is such a big departure from what we've had in the last few years and in my time in F1," he explained after Barcelona testing.

"There are a lot of things to understand, the new engines, but also the philosophy of the car is completely different with less downforce.

"It is about getting used to that and how different things feel and trying to get a good read on that and, as quickly as possible, find a good direction to make the car quicker and feel nicer.

"I am excited. I've had a good first three years in F1, but this is my first regulation reset, so it is going to be interesting to see where we come out as a team."

The F1 season gets underway in Australia on the weekend of March 7-8.