Oscar Piastri says things 'can easily go wrong' with new F1 cars

The Australian driver will be hoping to improve on his 2025 performance, which saw him finish third in the Formula 1 Drivers' Standings behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen and McLaren teammate and Champion Lando Norris.

In fact, Piastri led the Championship for more races than any other driver; a poor run of form in the latter half of the 2025 campaign was to blame for his eventual drop out of contention.

However, there are many question marks heading into the 2026 season, as new technical regulations have likely mixed up the existing pecking order and changed the driving characteristics of the cars.

On the latter point, Piastri believes that we will see more errors and mistakes up and down the grid from drivers, especially at the start of the season.

Speaking to a select group of media, including GrandPrix247, at a pre-season Press Conference on Tuesday, Piastri was keen to point out just how much more difficult the new cars will be to drive.

He said: "A car with less downforce and less grip is fundamentally harder to drive, and it will move around a bit more.

"In terms of energy management, we had an element of that already, but the significance and the consequence is three times as big.

"The boost button is an example. We already had that button under a different name, but it was much harder to get yourself in trouble. The rules around the software are different now," stated the McLaren driver.

The 24-year-old believes that those who get on top of the vastly different energy management systems earlier will have a big pace advantage in the first few rounds of the campaign.

He continued: "There are more things on managing the energy level and managing the battery in the driver’s hands, and it can easily go wrong. It is an opportunity and a point of difference."

All of the rule changes, particularly those pertaining to various driving modes available on the new cars, could cause some confusion for fans tuning in come Australia.

On this, Piastri stated that it might take a little bit of getting used to, but it will become second nature for many within a few races.

He added: "For spectators, you probably will not notice that much difference because we were already doing lift and coast. The bigger change is that overtakes happen using the battery instead of DRS.

"DRS was very visual. Now you do not have that reference, but once people are used to it, it will become second nature.

"Fundamentally it is not that different in that respect. The challenge is being able to broadcast and explain the differences because they are not as visual anymore. But that is an adaptation you have to make with anything new in sport," concluded the Australian.