McLaren arrive in Shanghai carrying the weight of a deeply frustrating season opener. Oscar Piastri's DNS in Melbourne — his home race — was the headline, but the underlying reliability concern about the Mercedes power unit is the story that could define McLaren's early 2026 campaign.
What Happened to Piastri
Piastri lost control of his MCL39 exiting Turn 4 on the way to the grid, approximately 40 minutes before the race start. He explained to Sky Sports F1 that the car had "no battery basically" after leaving the pits, resulting in a loss of control that put him into the barrier. He was classified DNS — Did Not Start. For the Australian driver, it was a devastating outcome after qualifying fifth and topping FP2.
The Reliability Question
The battery failure raised immediate questions about McLaren's Mercedes-supplied power unit. Piastri's pre-race issue in Australia is an isolated incident for now — Norris finished fifth without mechanical issues — but the electrical system vulnerability is a concern heading into Shanghai, particularly given the sprint format demands more from the power unit across fewer practice sessions.
Piastri's Defiance
Despite the setback, Piastri struck a confident tone ahead of Shanghai. "I'm confident Mercedes are beatable in 2026 despite their dominant start," he told Formula1.com. The data from Australia supports his view — McLaren's long-run pace in FP2 was competitive, and Norris' fifth-place finish came without the car being fully optimised for race conditions.
Team principal Andrea Stella told Sky Sports F1 before Australia that McLaren were "not where we were" compared to 2025, but emphasised the team is "ready to play the long game." The sprint format in Shanghai, with only one practice session before sprint qualifying, will test how quickly McLaren can find a competitive setup.
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