Sergio Perez says Oscar Piastri faced the same ‘difficult’ problem that he had at Red Bull

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Oscar Piastri will be hoping that McLaren can remain competitive under the new regulations as he seeks revenge for defeat in 2026.

Despite being in command of the drivers’ championship for the majority of 2025, the Aussie still found a way to fall short of a maiden triumph.

It felt as though the main turning point was the Italian Grand Prix, when McLaren asked him to swap positions for a mistake that was out of his control.

Piastri seemed to lose all momentum after that, as teammate Lando Norris blitzed his way to multiple victories, ultimately being the driver with the glory in Abu Dhabi.

McLaren have been warned Piastri could leave unless they start treating him better. The opening race of 2026 will be a pressured situation for him, given it’s both his home event and somewhere he failed last year.

F1 fans think Piastri can win the 2026 title, and he has now displayed his talent plenty of times. He just needs to be a little more consistent and bring it all together.

READ MORE: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri told the simple reason McLaren could be ‘a step ahead’ in 2026

Sergio Perez thinks the way McLaren ‘built the car’ hurt Oscar Piastri in 2025

Someone who knows a lot about facing a strong teammate in a title battle is Sergio Perez. For years, he had to deal with a car built for teammate Max Verstappen at Red Bull.

Speaking on the Oso Trava podcast, he shared how he thinks the way McLaren developed their car to Norris’ tendencies actually made life ‘very difficult’ for Piastri, much like he faced in years prior.

“I think he had a good season, right? When he went through something similar to what I went through, when [he] didn’t have a car that suited his style, it was difficult for him,” he said.

“A lot, but he never gave up. He turned it around when McLaren built the car to his specifications. It was already very difficult for Piastri.”

While Piastri hopes for ‘plenty more years’ with McLaren, he won’t put up with being second fiddle to anyone.

If 2026 ends up being a testing campaign, he could look to explore his options and engage in the Formula 1 driver market. There wouldn’t be any shortage in interest.

READ MORE: Jolyon Palmer saw Oscar Piastri make a ‘critical’ change that proves he can win the F1 title one day

Why Oscar Piastri is in unfamiliar territory during the 2026 F1 season

2026 is going to mark the very first time in Piastri’s single-seater racing career that he’s coming back from the disappointment of losing a title by a close margin the season before.

It’ll be how he handles that situation that will end up dictating how successful he is during his fourth campaign with McLaren.

Norris has the pressure and expectation of defending his title to worry about, while Piastri can be all about attacking.

It’s why James Hinchcliffe thinks Piastri is ‘very well positioned’ to strike back in 2026, and hand McLaren a second straight drivers’ success.