Formula One champions McLaren hope to turn past pain into future gain after the double blow of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri failing to start Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix.
Sunday was the first no-start of reigning champion Norris’s F1 career, while Australian teammate Piastri has yet to complete a lap in two races this season after crashing out on his way to the grid at the opening round in Australia.
Piastri had qualified fifth and Norris sixth, but both suffered problems with the electrical side of the Mercedes power unit that could not be fixed in the limited time available.
The last time McLaren had failed to start a race with either car was the infamous 2005 US Grand Prix at Indianapolis that featured only six drivers due to Michelin tyre concerns.
“If we consider Oscar has not been able to start a race at the start of the 2026 campaign, that’s pretty difficult for Oscar to process,” team principal Andrea Stella told reporters. “But at the same time, both remain quite positive.
“I think what we have gone through at McLaren in the journey from 2023 has been such a good journey of developing a culture, a mindset, and what we call internally a winner’s mindset.
“Last year, when we won the double championship, we said internally the victory was not in Abu Dhabi; the victory was in Qatar and in Vegas for the way we withstood the difficulties. That’s where you really become a champion.”
In Qatar last November Piastri was denied a win by a strategy blunder, while in Las Vegas both McLarens were disqualified for a skid plank breach after finishing second and fourth.
“You have to withstand the difficulty, you have to process it, and you have to use it to become even more of a worthwhile champion in the future and gain the qualities to be a champion,” said Stella.
“That’s our mindset, and I’ve seen it completely at play today [Sunday] with Oscar, with Lando and with the team.”
Stella said the problems in China were of a different nature on the two cars, apparently coincidental, albeit involving the same component, and it was a “tough moment” to lose out on potential points so early in the championship for something out of the team’s control.
“It’s quite exceptional and uncharacteristic that you have two terminal problems pretty much at the same time on the same component,” said the Italian. “We will review together with HPP [Mercedes high performance powertrains] the reason for the faults.
“Once we go a bit deeper, we will be able to have a more comprehensive assessment and see if there’s anything that was on the McLaren side.”
Reuters
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