- McLaren driver is fighting uphill battle
Aussie F1 star Oscar Piastri will have to rewrite history in two ways if he wants to win the 2026 World Drivers’ Championship.
The McLaren driver has endured a disastrous beginning to the season after a crash in Melbourne and mechanical issues in China have stopped him from driving a single lap in a Grand Prix so far.
He is currently 48 points behind the championship leader, with Mercedes driver George Russell sitting on 51 after winning in Melbourne, then coming first in the sprint and second in the main race at the Chinese Grand Prix.
That margin is already larger than the biggest deficit any F1 star has overcome in order to win the drivers’ title.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who has been open with his disdain of the sport’s new regulations, recovered to take the crown after trailing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 46 points in 2022.
German legend Sebastian Vettel also came back from a 44-point deficit in 2012.
Oscar Piastri (pictured) has failed to start both of this season’s grand prix races
The Aussie star (pictured) will have to create a stunning piece of F1 history in order to take the drivers’ crown this year
Max Verstappen (pictured) currently holds the record for greatest points comeback in F1 history
Piastri also has the unwanted record of being the first driver in 56 years to fail to start in consecutive grands prix – and no driver has recovered from a setback like that and gone on to win the title.
Ironically, McLaren founder Bruce McLaren was the last star to fail to start two races in a row, when he finished third in the championship in 1969.
Piastri didn’t start the Australian Grand Prix after crashing his car on the reconnaissance lap in front of his home fans at the Albert Park circuit.
He then didn’t take part in the Chinese Grand Prix after his McLaren suffered an electrical issue with the power unit just moments before the race began.
The Aussie’s world-champion teammate Lando Norris hasn’t fared much better, with the British driver sitting sixth in the standings after also failing to make it onto the starting grid in Shanghai.
Piastri’s next chance to break into the points will come at the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29.
He and the rest of the field will then have a five-week break after the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races due to the war in the Middle East.
