Oscar Piastri: Red Bull has emerged as “the front-runner” in F1 2026

On the other hand, McLaren also refreshed its MCL40 in Azerbaijan, with updated sidepods, engine cover, floor, diffuser, rear suspension, and rear wing; however, the papaya cars have struggled to uphold their status as contenders for wins since Lando Norris's victories at the Hungaroring and Zandvoort.

While the upgrade performed as intended, team principal Andrea Stella acknowledged that it didn’t deliver the anticipated improvement compared to other leading teams. Piastri might have secured a podium finish in Baku were it not for a late lock-up; in Sepang, both drivers qualified and finished outside the top five.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

“Mercedes have been quite strong throughout the season, and I think with the long straights in Baku, it wasn’t surprising how fast they were,” Piastri remarked.

“Given the number of straights in Malaysia, it was unexpected that they weren’t quicker.

“Whatever Red Bull implemented on their car in Baku clearly had a significant impact, as Baku seemed to fly under the radar for them given their qualifying position and Max's engine issue. Had he started at the front in Baku, it would have clearly put George under substantial pressure throughout the race, not just at the end. And in Malaysia, he was undoubtedly the fastest car-and-driver combination.

“I certainly believe that the teams around us are making strides. We, along with Ferrari, seem to fluctuate a bit, but Mercedes has consistently been the top team, and I think Red Bull has joined them in recent weeks.”

McLaren was actually affected by fuel injection problems in the last two races, which the team aims to resolve in Singapore – though it may not be sufficient to compete with Mercedes and Red Bull.

When asked about the key lessons learned from Malaysia, Norris stated: “There were quite a few, both from my perspective, as a team, and from what transpired during the race, as well as general insights regarding the car and what we need to improve on, and how we can return to the level we achieved in the previous few races – Budapest, Zandvoort, Madrid.

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

“There were some clear issues, like straight-line speed and the challenges I've faced with the car, along with more technical aspects concerning how we can extract more potential from the car to regain the performance we previously had. That’s a complex task, but there’s a lot to address and the team has been working diligently.”

When pressed about whether the issues in Sepang were track-specific, he added: “Well, we weren’t particularly quick in Baku either. So, I wouldn’t label it as just a Malaysia issue. There are definitely elements in Malaysia, particularly the roughness of the tarmac, that seemed to contribute. It will be interesting to see this weekend if we can recover some of the performance we lacked there. Singapore is a track I enjoy, and we’ve performed well here in recent years.” Norris clinched victory at Marina Bay from pole position in 2024.

“So yes, part of it is related to the track layout, and the last couple of circuits haven’t played to our strengths like Madrid and some of the other races have,” he continued. “However, overall, we’ve still been underperforming relative to where we need to be and want to be. We must improve, regardless.”

This sprint weekend in Singapore may present challenges for McLaren to bounce back, with Piastri describing the MCL40 as a challenging car to quickly optimize for a suitable setup.

“With this year's car, it has never been straightforward for either of us, especially for me, so we will definitely be putting everything to the test,” the Australian conceded.