News Summary
- Oscar Piastri finished seventh in the United States Grand Prix, while McLaren teammate Lando Norris recovered to fifth.
- The Australian admitted that McLaren lacked the pace to challenge the leading cars, despite executing a successful one-stop strategy.
- Piastri is seventh in the championship with 144 points, 67 behind Norris, as McLaren prepares for another technically demanding race in Mexico.
Oscar Piastri admitted that McLaren struggled to find competitive pace throughout the United States Grand Prix weekend, after finishing seventh at Circuit of The Americas on Sunday (October 25). The Australian was unable to challenge the leading cars despite an effective one-stop strategy and a prolonged defensive battle against Mercedes driver George Russell.
The result left Piastri on 144 points in the 2026 Drivers’ Championship, 67 behind teammate Lando Norris, who finished fifth in Austin. McLaren also slipped into a tie with Red Bull for third in the Constructors’ Championship, increasing the importance of finding a solution before the final five races.
Piastri admits McLaren could not unlock its potential
Austin proved difficult for McLaren despite the team’s efforts to improve its MCL40 through the season.
Norris gained positions during the race but could not stay ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton.
Piastri encountered similar limitations further down the field.
The Australian explained that the team’s race execution was sound but that the car lacked sufficient performance to challenge higher positions.
“We just didn’t have the pace in the car, and we continued to struggle, as we have all weekend,” Piastri said in McLaren’s official post-race report.
He added that the hard tyre had performed well enough to change the team’s strategic approach.
“The Hard compound was good, so we were able to extend to a one-stop strategy, having initially planned for a two-stopper,” he explained.
The decision helped Piastri maintain track position ahead of Russell, whose late-race pace was not sufficient to complete an overtake.
However, the Australian was disappointed that even a clean race had not brought a better result.
McLaren’s narrow operating window frustrates Piastri
One of the most revealing aspects of Piastri’s assessment concerned how difficult it had become to extract consistent lap time from the McLaren.
The car was capable of producing competitive pace under certain conditions, but achieving the correct balance and tyre performance had proved unpredictable.
“When you find the window on these cars, there is some pace but finding that window is very tricky,” Piastri explained.
That difficulty affected both McLaren drivers, although Norris managed to recover from eighth on the grid to fifth at the finish.
Team principal Andrea Stella acknowledged the disappointment of the weekend while defending the team’s race execution.
According to McLaren’s official report, upgrades introduced for Austin made a positive contribution, but the team had not fully exploited its potential during qualifying.
The distinction is important.
A car can receive a genuine performance improvement without becoming easy to operate over a full race weekend.
Temperature, tyre behaviour, circuit characteristics and setup choices all influence how successfully the theoretical gain translates into lap time.
In Austin, McLaren could not consistently match the pace of Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull.
Piastri faces a growing championship gap to Norris
The United States Grand Prix also widened the gap between McLaren’s two drivers.
Norris collected ten points for fifth place, while Piastri earned six for seventh.
The British driver now has 211 points, compared with the Australian’s 144.
McLaren after the 2026 United States Grand Prix
| Driver | Austin result | Championship points |
|---|---|---|
| L. NORRIS | 5th | 211 |
| O. PIASTRI | 7th | 144 |
| Difference | 2 positions | 67 points |
For Piastri, the remaining races present an opportunity to end a difficult campaign with stronger performances.
The Australian’s immediate target is not the Drivers’ Championship, which is now mathematically beyond reach, but improved consistency and a return to competing near the front.
McLaren also needs stronger results from both drivers in its battle with Red Bull.
The teams are level on 355 points after Austin, and each weekend could prove important in deciding third place in the Constructors’ standings.
Mexico presents another difficult technical test
Piastri expects the next round to provide a different but equally demanding challenge.
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez sits more than 2,200 metres above sea level, reducing air density and complicating cooling and aerodynamic performance.
McLaren must also establish whether its latest upgrades can operate more consistently in the conditions expected at Mexico City.
Piastri said the team would analyse what happened in Austin before arriving at the next round, where low grip and high altitude could create further difficulties.
The complete Mexican Grand Prix timetable and worldwide start times place the race on Sunday, November 1 in Mexico, equivalent to 07:00 AEDT on Monday, November 2 in Sydney and Melbourne.
Piastri will have another opportunity to demonstrate McLaren’s progress, but Austin showed that improvements on paper do not always produce predictable speed on track.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is following Oscar Piastri, McLaren and the build-up to the Mexican Grand Prix, with full coverage and analysis in its Formula 1 section.
