McLaren’s pre-season testing trick will take pressure off Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris’ shoulders

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McLaren will not be hitting the track on the opening of Formula 1 testing for the 2026 season in Barcelona.

Lando Norris has the added expectation of being the current drivers’ championship holder this season for the first time in his career.

Meanwhile, teammate Oscar Piastri is looking to avenge an agonising loss at the final race of the 2025 campaign in Abu Dhabi. He struggled in the second half of last season.

McLaren will benefit from having a Mercedes engine heading into the 2026 F1 regulations, which is supposed to be one of the stronger units.

Prove us wrong: McLaren have the BEST driver line-up on the 2026 grid

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Norris may have more ‘internal’ supporters than Piastri since his demeanour is a little different. Their personalities will reflect differently upon their team.

F1 fans are ‘worried’ about Piastri after noticing a dip in form after the Italian Grand Prix last year. He showed signs of a slight recovery in the final few races, but it was too late to make a comeback by then.

READ MORE: Lando Norris just showed his real feelings about Oscar Piastri with a pointed Lewis Hamilton remark

Missing the first day of pre-season testing will take pressure off Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s shoulders

Valtteri Bottas thinks Piastri is doing ‘amazing’ and has performed admirably for someone with just three years of experience under their belt.

It was always going to be a tough task to go into a well-oiled team like McLaren and compete against someone like Norris, who knows the team inside out, so quickly.

Norris feels ‘less pressure’ in 2026 now that he’s got over the hump of achieving his first world title. Now he can focus on replicating that feat under new regulations.

And McLaren have already taken one step to make that goal more achievable by deciding not to run at the first day of pre-season testing in Barcelona.

Instead, they can watch as the rest of the grid inevitably encounters reliability issues at this early stage. They’re protecting their drivers’ confidence in the team and their abilities.

Don’t be surprised if when they do decide to run for the first time, they face a few issues themselves, since every surface on their car is entirely new, but they are the world champions for a reason. They have to be the favourites in 2026.

READ MORE: Andrea Stella reveals what Oscar Piastri told him about McLaren’s papaya rules in post-season talks

Why McLaren replacing Daniel Ricciardo with Oscar Piastri was ‘ludicrous’

Back in 2022, it was considered a bit of a gamble when McLaren decided to replace an out-of-form Daniel Ricciardo with fellow Aussie Piastri for 2023.

In fact, replacing Ricciardo with Piastri was ‘ludicrous’, according to Peter Windsor, who could see the value of the experience that the ex-Red Bull driver brought to Woking.

Looking back, it was an inspired move, and one that the team will have no regrets about having made in 2026.

But, if he fails to win a title over the next couple of seasons, might he look to explore other opportunities away from the spotlight of being Norris’ teammate? A lot hinges on how the 12 months pan out.