Piastri: “We understood some limits between engine and chassis compared to 2025”

A low profile McLaren In these first days marked by the debut on the track of the 2026 single-seater in Barcelona, ​​at McLaren – the team that won the 2025 constructors’ and drivers’ title – no particularly significant statements were recorded, a sign of a team focused more than ever on working to improve its MCL40.
On the morning of the final day, Oscar Piastri completed 79 laps, recording the second fastest time of the session, eight tenths behind Charles Leclerc. Piastri’s analysis Speaking to F1 TV, Oscar Piastri commented: “The day was pleasant, much calmer than the first two. I seem to have found a good rhythm and started to understand how the car works, which is positive. I’ve already tried some things to see how we can improve it and things like that, I’m trying to drive it with different configurations and settings to find out how it could go on a race weekend. All in all, the morning was positive.” Piastri explained that he has focused on understanding the new power unit: “There is still a lot to learn especially regarding the engine, how to get the most and how to go faster. I think we have understood some of the problems or rather the limitations of different things compared to last year, both on the engine side and on the chassis side, because there is much less downforce compared to 2025.” The Australian McLaren driver then concluded: “We are trying to develop the car, understand how it behaves and try to improve it. This is the main thing also for Mercedes HPP, who are trying to understand the power unit and we are trying to help them. Now we will look at the things that worked as expected and others that did not work and still others that simply need to be changed,” Piastri summed up.