Oscar Piastri highlights Mercedes race weakness

Oscar Piastri believes a developing race trend in Formula 1 could open the door for rivals such as McLaren and Ferrari to challenge Mercedes, despite the team’s strong overall pace in 2026.

The McLaren driver pointed to a pattern seen across recent grands prix, where Mercedes has consistently shown dominant qualifying performance but has been unable to fully convert it into comfortable race wins, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

At multiple race weekends this season, including Australia, China, and Suzuka, Mercedes has frequently taken early control of races—only to be overtaken or pressured as the race develops.

Rivals such as McLaren and Ferrari have been able to capitalize at various stages, particularly in opening laps, even when Mercedes ultimately retained the strongest overall race pace.

Piastri dismissed the idea of a mysterious issue behind Mercedes’ race behavior, instead attributing it to overall performance differences.

“There is nothing magical about anything; they just have more downforce,” he said, adding that Mercedes’ advantage becomes clear over a full race distance.

He also noted that McLaren’s main focus remains improving downforce and overall consistency across all phases of a race weekend.

The Australian also highlighted Ferrari’s ability to challenge Mercedes during early race phases, describing it as an “interesting” reference point for other teams.

He suggested that while Mercedes remains the benchmark in 2026, the way Ferrari has been able to compete in specific phases of races offers valuable insights for rivals chasing performance gains.

With the season still developing, Piastri believes small performance shifts—particularly in race starts and early stints—could play a key role in reshaping the competitive order behind Mercedes.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada