McLaren has revealed an errant power unit instrumentality impeded Oscar Piastri during the 2026 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix.
The Australian has endured a difficult start to the 2026 campaign, partly owing to the lack of competitiveness of the MCL40 and party due to the all-new Mercedes power unit in the back of it.
For the race weekend at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the Woking-based team had opted to fit the latest-spec PU from the German marque, expecting increased reliability.
That said, while the engine turned out to be a reliable one, it cost Piastri mightily during qualifying.
The McLaren driver could only post the seventh-fastest lap during the top 10 shootout, over two tenths off of his team-mate Lando Norris.
Team Principal Andrea Stella later revealed that Piastri had been hard done by certain ‘self-learning’ elements on the PU that calibrate itself, lap after lap, based on driver input in terms of energy deployment across a lap.
Therefore, while Piastri and Norris had the exact same engine settings, the Australian was bogged down by an errant mechanism on his PU that left him without much battery in the crucial parts of the 7.004kms-long track as compared to the Briton.
“It sucks. I can’t really say it any other way than that,” Piastri told media including Motorsport Week.
“I certainly wouldn’t have been the only person. I know George has had a lot issues with that this weekend, and maybe the last couple of weekends. And speaking to some others, it’s a similar story.
“So, you know, when you’ve got qualifying grids decided by computers behaving or misbehaving, it’s a pretty crap way of going racing.”
Oscar Piastri backed after F1 Belgian GP PU gaffe – “It’s got nothing to do with you as a driver”
At the start of the 44-lap race, Piastri was naturally compromised, having to endure the impending opening phase melee.
Trying to make a move on Charles Leclerc, around the outside of Les Combes, then made his afternoon even trickier, as contact with the Ferrari earned him floor damage which cost him quite a substantial chunk of downforce.
Meanwhile, his team-mate Norris’ valiant recovery drive from 13th, after taking a PU-related grid drop, evaporated after a slow pitstop.
Piastri finished fifth on the road, ahead of Norris, and the Briton did come to the defence of his team-mate, explaining how in 2026, qualifying results have got no proportionality to the talents of a driver.
“It [qualifying] has got nothing to do with you as a driver, really,” Norris told media including Motorsport Week.
“Sometimes it does and we’re talking about being a few metres early on the button or whatever.
“It just makes a big difference at times, but there are certain things within your control and a lot of things, way too many things, that are out of your control.
“It’s a shame that there’s so many things that can dictate your own pace in qualifying. It’s not down to the driver.
“It’s just down to hoping you get lucky that the power unit does what it should do and doesn’t do something silly.”
McLaren would hope to regroup before the Hungarian GP, next weekend, to quell the gremlins plaguing its drivers during qualifying, especially because how important track position can be at a circuit like the Hungaroring.
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