Twelve months ago, Oscar Piastri was locked in a thrilling two-horse title battle with McLaren teammate Lando Norris. Now, as F1 heads into the second half of 2026, the Australian finds himself adrift — outperformed by Norris, hampered by reliability, and still searching for his first win of the season.

A season of misfortune and misadaptation

The problems started before the first race even began. Piastri spun and crashed on his reconnoitering laps ahead of the grid forming up in Australia, his home race — a painful watch. The following weekend in China, both Piastri and Norris suffered engine battery issues on the grid, resulting in a double DNS.

But beyond bad luck, there is a more fundamental issue. Piastri's smooth driving style — the same style that made him so effective with the previous generation of cars — does not gel with the new 2026 machines and their additional slides with less downforce.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella explained the challenge to Sky Sports Germany: "You have to attack the car, you have to accept that the car slides, you have to be extremely active. And this is a driving style that comes more natural to Lando than Oscar."

The same issue affects George Russell at Mercedes. Both drivers arrive deep into corners and turn smoothly, a style that produced great mid-corner and exit speed with the old cars but which is less effective when the new machines reward drivers who attack and catch regular slides.

The Hungarian heartbreak

Hungary looked like it could be a breakthrough weekend. McLaren brought a significant upgrade package, and Piastri took the lead from Norris at Turn 2 on the opening lap. For a time, he controlled the race.

But then the Sainz collision happened. Williams driver Carlos Sainz, being lapped, clattered into Piastri's McLaren at the exit of Turn 2 on Lap 38. Piastri lost critical time, and when Norris pitted and emerged ahead, the race had swung irreversibly. Then, on Lap 56, Piastri slowed and parked with a suspected gearbox problem. What had been a possible first victory of 2026 ended in zero points.

"That's got to be one of the dumbest things I've seen on a race track," Piastri said of the Sainz incident, also referencing the malfunctioning blue flag warning system that failed to properly alert Sainz to the approaching leader.

The numbers tell the story

The head-to-head statistics paint a clear picture. Norris leads Piastri 7-4 in qualifying, including his pole position at the Hungarian GP. In races, they are level at 5-5 — though that figure is skewed by Piastri's DNS in Australia and the double DNS in China. Norris is responsible for McLaren's only win and has been the faster of the two whenever the car has been competitive.

Adjusting driving style takes time, and Stella acknowledged the challenge. But there have still been weekends when Piastri has been capable of fighting for wins and podiums — the potential remains evident. The question is whether he can unlock it consistently in the second half of the season.

The sill season shadow

Piastri's struggles take on added significance in the context of F1's driver market. With Max Verstappen's exit clause triggered and McLaren having held talks with the Dutchman's representatives, Piastri's seat could theoretically be at risk if Verstappen decides to move to Woking. Norris, as reigning world champion and the driver outperforming his teammate, would be the one McLaren builds around.

Piastri is contracted to McLaren through 2028, and a straight swap to Red Bull would remain a premium option if he were displaced. But the Australian will be acutely aware that results in the second half of 2026 will shape perceptions — and potentially his future.

For now, the focus is on adaptation. "It seems to be that Piastri is struggling more than Norris in adapting to the new regulations," noted The Athletic's Madeline Coleman, "but there have still been weekends when he's been capable of fighting for wins and podiums." Whether those weekends become the norm rather than the exception will define the rest of his 2026 campaign.