Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
Oscar Piastri had a record-breaking weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix, but not in a good way, as he failed to start the race.
It has been a horrendous start to 2026 for the Australian, having not completed a single racing lap this year. Piastri crashed in Melbourne on his way to the grid after suddenly gaining an extra 100 kilowatts of power in the battery.
Disaster for Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Alex Albon and Gabriel Bortoleto as they fail to start the Chinese Grand Prix!
Jolyon Palmer felt Piastri would ‘pay the price’ for his crash as he would be less accustomed to the new cars and regulations. He was eerily correct, as the 24-year-old and McLaren teammate Lando Norris failed to start the Chinese Grand Prix.
Piastri and Norris suffered separate electrical faults and were wheeled back into the garage. The former is yet to start a race in 2026, and with that feat, he joins Bruce McLaren in the record books with the Woking outfit.
Oscar Piastri gave a ‘fist bump’ after becoming the first McLaren driver since Bruce McLaren to DNS twice in a row
Piastri is now the first driver in McLaren’s history not to start two consecutive Grands Prix since the team’s founder. Bruce McLaren did not start in the final two races of the 1969 season at Watkins Glen and Mexico City.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown was frustrated by the double DNS for his drivers, with Norris and Piastri being forced to watch from the sidelines. The Aussie sat down next to journalist Tom Clarkson in the McLaren hospitality and was told about the unwanted record he had set.
Recalling the ordeal with Jolyon Palmer on F1 Nation, Clarkson said: “You mentioned the name Norris, not so many positives down at McLaren this weekend. I mean, poor old Oscar Piastri has yet to do a racing lap in 2026.
What do you expect from Oscar Piastri in the 2026 F1 season?
“First time a McLaren driver has failed to do a lap in two consecutive races since Bruce McLaren.
“I was actually sat next to Oscar. He came into the McLaren hospitality to watch the race and as that stat was offered up on the TV, he gave it a little sort of fist bump.”
At the very least, Piastri could see the light-hearted side of things, but the reality is that it has been a dreadful start to the season. He sits 12th in the standings with three points, scored in the China Sprint race.
READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend
Jolyon Palmer rues Oscar Piastri’s ‘ridiculous’ start to the 2026 season
Replying to Clarkson, Palmer then jokingly said: “Record breaking weekend, eh?” He then discussed Piastri’s start to the campaign, which has been far from what McLaren had expected for their title defence.
“He’s got a new performance engineer as well, who’s just had his best Sunday in the role by making it to the grid. That’s how ridiculous his start has been,” Palmer continued.
“It’s so tough on him not to have had a race start and given how tricky the race starts are, you want all the experience you can get.”
Receive exclusive F1 news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
