Oscar Piastri says McLaren 'behind' Mercedes' F1 2026 car

McLaren F1 star Oscar Piastri has spoken about how being a Mercedes customer team could impact the papaya team's chances of being at the top of the competitive order in 2026.

The upcoming 2026 campaign will be the first to take place under the new set of regulations, which include a complete overhaul of F1's power unit rules.

Luckily for McLaren, they continue to operate in the pinnacle of motorsport as a Mercedes customer team, and their 2026 challenger (the MCL40) will be powered by a new Mercedes power unit.

The last set of major regulation changes came in 2014 when the hybrid power unit was first introduced. The Silver Arrows dominated this era and picked up eight consecutive championships and seven drivers' titles between 2014 and 2021, so they have naturally been tipped as the favourites to master the new rules once again in 2026.

But Piastri has shared his opinion that there are both positives and negatives to being associated with Mercedes.

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Piastri responds to McLaren testing 'teething problems'

Both McLaren and Mercedes took to the private Barcelona shakedown last month to try out their new machinery, but whilst the W17 is believed to have completed a whopping 500 laps, Piastri spoke of 'problems' and 'limitations' after driving the Mercedes-powered MCL40.

As quoted by Formule1.nl, Piastri assessed McLaren's relationship with Mercedes, saying: "Being a factory team obviously has its advantages, especially now that there are new developments in the engine department.

"We have a very close relationship with Mercedes HPP [the Silver Arrows' powertrains project], which is very beneficial for us."

The Australian driver then touched on the previous issues he had hinted at experiencing in Barcelona, adding: "All the teething problems we had during the test in Barcelona had nothing to do with the fact that we're not a factory team."

The 24-year-old event admitted that McLaren may be left chasing the highly experienced Mercedes squad this year.

"We may be a bit behind the times because they've had years to really integrate these regulations into their car, but we've also been working on that process for a long time," he said.

McLaren are set to be powered by Mercedes until at least 2030.

When does the 2026 F1 season start?

Both McLaren and Mercedes will be in action when the 2026 season starts in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix. The first race of the year takes place on March 8 at 3pm local time (AEDT), 4am GMT, and 11pm ET.

The first round of pre-season tests in Bahrain will kick off before then on February 11 until 13, and the second round continues from February 18 until February 20.

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