Why the Japanese GP showed off the “best version” of…

Oscar Piastri had a tough start to Formula 1’s new era in 2026. But after a second-place finish in the Japanese Grand Prix, his McLaren boss Andrea Stella believes the “best version” of the young Australian was on show last weekend.

Piastri failed to start the first two grands prix of the year after crashing on the way to the grid in Melbourne and being hit by a mechanical issue ahead of the race in China. He finally made the starting grid on Sunday in Japan and finished second, leading the Australian to quip “it turns out if we start this thing, it’s pretty good” as he crossed the finish line.

After the struggles he faced in the two previous rounds, Stella believes the way Piastri turned around his fortunes in Japan was one of his “strongest” performances since joining F1.

"Despite Oscar not having started the two main races at the start of the 2026 season, based on what we have seen in testing, in practice, in qualifying, based on his overall attitude and mental strength, I think we have seen the best version of Oscar, the strongest Oscar since he's been in Formula 1,” Stella said.

“I think, finally, he has had an opportunity to demonstrate it, and he has done it in his own extent. Having gone through two races, especially in the home race, where you are not in a condition to start, for a situation that was completely avoidable, can really bog you down.”

Piastri was equally complimentary of his own performance, and told reporters after the race that it was ‘one of his best’ F1 weekends since he joined the series.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren (Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images)

Now, it will be up to McLaren to build on the positive momentum of Piastri’s podium, Stella believes. The Italian hopes Piastri’s “steadiness” and “strength” will now filter down to the rest of the team as it fights back from its tough start to 2026.

Despite coming into the season with back-to-back constructors’ crowns under its belt, the team currently sits third and almost 90 points adrift of Mercedes at the top of the standings. To make the gulf in performance worse, McLaren uses the same Mercedes power unit as the Silver Arrows, which is the dominant engine in 2026.

As such, the papaya squad is committed to closing the performance gap to the leaders.

"Well done to Oscar for the way he's been facing this start of the season, and now it's the responsibility of McLaren and the team to offer Lando [Norris] and Oscar once again a car that can compete for victories," Stella added.

“I think if we want to be in this condition in the future consistently, we will have to improve the chassis by a few tenths of a second. And that's the aim that we have in relation to bringing upgrades to the coming races.”