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After getting his first taste of a title fight in F1 last season, Oscar Piastri is eyeing another shot at securing a maiden world championship with McLaren in 2026.
Oscar Piastri was in the driving seat of the F1 standings for the majority of the previous campaign, with a swathe of mistakes ending up costing him dearly as he slid down to P3 in the drivers’ championship at the end of the term.
Despite the drop off in form in the crucial stages of the championship, Martin Brundle is adamant that Piastri will win a title one day due to the impressive performances he recorded earlier in the season.
With a new era of regulations now in effect across the F1 pit lane, there’s no guarantee that the 24-year-old will enjoy another competitive season at the front of the grid with McLaren.
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F1 fans aren’t optimistic about Oscar Piastri’s chances of winning the title this year
On F1 Oversteer’s official Facebook page, fans were asked for their opinion on whether Piastri is a favourite for the title heading into the 2026 season.
The overwhelming sentiment was one of negativity for the Australian driver’s title hopes, with the majority of F1 fans highlighting other candidates on the grid who have a better chance of winning it all this year.
One user believes his McLaren counterpart will get the better of him again, commenting, “No, I think Lando [Norris] has it over him.”
Another fan identified two other drivers as potentially having a better season than Piastri, as they posted, “No, he’s not the favourite. That sounds like Max [Verstappen] or George [Russell].”
A similar sentiment was echoed by another user, who wrote, “Right now, I think it’s George Russell.”
One fan believes Piastri has his mind focused on exiting McLaren rather than on the title. They commented, “Nope, I think he’s already looking for his next drive.”
With Norris’ 2025 feat offering the first new title-winner since Max Verstappen in 2021, another fan thinks the same will happen again this year, posting, “No, it’s going to be someone different this year.”
One final fan theorised on what position Piastri will end the campaign in, identifying his 2025 spot as the ceiling for him in 2026. They wrote, “He will finish 3rd at best.”
- READ MORE: Christian Horner just explained why Lando Norris must fear Oscar Piastri at McLaren in 2026
FILL IN THE BLANK: Oscar Piastri needs to work on ______ in order to win the 2026 Drivers’ Championship 🏆
Martin Brundle is backing Oscar Piastri to come back better than ever after missing out on the 2025 championship…
Oscar Piastri has been told that he must ‘fix’ certain things before he can become a world champion in F1
The crucial turning point in Piastri’s 2025 title charge came during the second half of the season, when the Australian made a string of mistakes that allowed Norris and Max Verstappen to gain an immense amount of ground on him.
All in all, Piastri lost somewhere around 47 points through individual errors over the course of the whole season, which would have been more than enough to swing the championship back into his favour upon the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi.
There’s no doubt that the 24-year-old has been trying to put them behind him over the winter break and focus on the upcoming season, and Brundle has shared what Piastri must now fix to ensure he is competitive at every single race weekend.
The iconic F1 pundit identified low-grip circuits as the McLaren star’s Achilles heel, citing circuits such as Mexico City and Sao Paulo as key races that he must improve at.
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