McLaren driver Oscar Piastri had an eventful 2026 F1 Malaysia race. Starting the race in P6, McLaren chose to start their drivers on slick tyres. Piastri disagreed with the choice, opting to pit for intermediate tyres prior to the race start.
The decision worked out for Piastri as he climbed his way back into the points very quickly in P10. Following two Safety Cars and a nice overtake on Liam Lawson, the Australian managed to finish in the same position he lined up on the grid, helped by George Russell retiring.
Following the 2026 F1 Malaysia race, Oscar Piastri spoke in the print media pen about his chaotic race.
Piastri jokes about race delay
The Malaysia race start was delayed due to heavy rain and unexpected technical issues. When the drivers initially left the pit lane, many started experiencing technical glitches. Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, and several other drivers slowed down on track. They were unable to accelerate behind the Safety Car.
Ultimately, the race start was suspended for nearly an hour.
The FIA stated that “an unprecedented combination of low engine speed, low-grip conditions, wet-weather energy management settings and the Sepang circuit’s sector configuration led to an unintended loss of power for a number of cars.”
When speaking about the 2026 F1 Malaysia race, Piastri joked about the technical issues while highlighting his race performance.
“It was a hell of a lot to finish in the same place I started. It had a bit of everything. I’ve never seen an F1 race delayed by a bug — that was a new one. It was very, very tricky out there. Obviously, the wet conditions were tough.
“We took a bit of a gamble on the slick, and I knew coming out of the pits it wasn’t the right call. So I boxed. I think the Safety Car coming out kind of neutralised everyone, so it didn’t cost us too much. We just ultimately weren’t that competitive.”
Piastri continued, expressing that the late Safety Car ultimately cost him the chance to fight with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc at the end of the race as the Monegasque was on older tyres before it.
“It was a shame for the last Safety Car, because I was catching Leclerc very quickly. So I think I could have got him. We just didn’t quite have the pace today to do that.”
Piastri on McLaren race pace during 2026 F1 Malaysia race
When asked if he noticed an improvement in his race pace during his final stint before the last Safety Car, Piastri responded, “Pretty much — we weren’t too flashy anywhere else.”
Piastri continued, highlighting his difficulties with the pace during his first dry tyre stint of the 2026 F1 Malaysia race. He expressed that the MCL40 had a very narrow window for optimal performance.
“The first stint though, struggling a lot in those very tricky conditions. One, it was very hard to see if the track would dry or not. I think just with how you have to drive our car, you need to have a lot of confidence, and in those kind of conditions, I think that exposed a bit of our struggle — definitely for me, anyway.
“But once I put on the next set of hards, we seemed pretty good. That’s definitely the biggest learning. At the moment we’re too up and down, and the window we have is too small to be able to be quick.”
