McLaren driver Oscar Piastri said the racing team is focused on rewriting its history and fighting for Formula 1 championships.
Piastri's comments come as McLaren attempts to establish a new dynasty in the sport. The team's ability to balance internal competition between two elite drivers is critical to maintaining their position at the front of the grid.
Piastri, who is 25 years old [4], is currently under a long-term contract with the U.S.-based team [5]. He recently discussed the dynamics of the 2025 season, during which teammate Lando Norris won the World Championship [1]. The title fight that year was closely contested; Piastri held a 34-point lead with 10 races remaining before the final standings were decided [2].
While Piastri said the team maintained harmony and kept operations under control during that title fight [1], other results suggest a more volatile environment. Both Piastri and Norris failed to start the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, resulting in a double DNS for the team [3].
This gap between driver sentiment and operational reality has persisted into the current 2026 season. Lando Norris said both he and Piastri are struggling this year, suggesting that the team's intense focus on the 2025 championship effort took a toll on their current performance [6].
Despite these setbacks, team principal Zak Brown and the drivers remain positioned as the core of McLaren's strategy to revive its historic success [1, 3]. Piastri continues to emphasize the team's long-term ambitions and the necessity of stability within the garage to achieve consistent podium finishes.
“McLaren is aiming to rewrite its history and fight for championships.”
The contradiction between Piastri's claims of team harmony and the reality of double DNS results and 2026 performance dips suggests a struggle to sustain the peak operational intensity required for a championship. While McLaren has the driver talent to lead, the toll of the 2025 campaign indicates a potential burnout or technical debt in their car development.
