Anthony Davidson thinks the F2-style 2026 F1 cars could be perfect for Oscar Piastri

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Anthony Davidson thinks the 2026 F1 regulations could be perfect for McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, after hearing Lando Norris suggest driving the car feels like in an F2 car.

Formula 1 has overhauled the regulations for the 2026 season, with changes introduced to the engine, chassis, aerodynamics and tyre rules. The 2026 regulations were largely set to aid the new power units with a near 50/50 split between electrical and combustion power.

The increase in electrical power from the previous 20/80 share, along with F1 removing the expensive MGU-H, was the biggest challenge that drivers had to adapt to during pre-season testing in Bahrain. F1 cars are also now 200mm shorter and 100mm narrower than in 2025.

Piastri had some wild moments on track during testing, as he and McLaren started to get to grips with the MCL40 in the Sakhir desert. McLaren are not starting 2026 as the favourite to taste success in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as Piastri returns home this week.

Anthony Davidson thinks Lando Norris’ F2 claim could be ‘great news’ for Oscar Piastri in F1 2026

Figures in the Formula 1 paddock left Bahrain with the sense that McLaren could range from being the second to the fourth-best team at the start of the 2026 F1 season, with Mercedes expected to start the year leading the field ahead of the papaya squad, Ferrari and Red Bull.

READ MORE: All you need to know about the 2026 F1 season, from the calendar to drivers

Davidson believes McLaren have the “strongest driver line-up” on the 2026 F1 grid in Piastri and 2025 drivers’ champion Norris, though. And Piastri could be even stronger in 2026 after Norris suggested that the new F1 cars feel like F2 cars, with which the former was “a force”.

“I certainly don’t doubt what Oscar is capable of,” Davidson told RacingNews365. “And immediately in Bahrain, he looked strong again. The race runs were great.”

Davidson added: “He was a cracking driver in F2, as was Lando. But Oscar in F2 was a force to be reckoned with. And maybe these cars, Lando said, feel more like an F2 car. That could be great news for Oscar Piastri, so let’s wait and see.

“I’m sure they’ll be running each other hard again. And for me, they’re the strongest driver line-up on the grid. That’s why they wrapped up the constructors’ title so early last year.”

What has Lando Norris said about the 2026 F1 regulations feeling ‘like an F2 car’?

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Norris made his comparison between driving McLaren’s car built to the 2026 F1 regulations and what he remembered from his Formula 2 days after the shakedown in Barcelona at the end of January. At the time, he was not sure if he liked now having to drive in a similar way.

“It certainly feels more like an F2 car in some ways with how you have to drive it,” Norris said, via quotes by Motorsport.com. “I don’t know if I like that or not for the time being.”

Norris finished second to George Russell by 68 points in the 2018 Formula 2 season, during their respective rookie seasons prior to debuting in F1 in 2019. Piastri won the 2021 F2 title as a rookie with a 60.5-point lead over Robert Shwartzman to build on his 2020 F3 title win.