Oscar Piastri “Hungry and Ready” After Title Miss Sets Sights on 2026

Oscar Piastri has sent a clear message ahead of next season, saying he is “hungry” and “ready” after narrowly missing out on his first Formula 1 drivers’ title to McLaren team-mate Lando Norris.

A difficult second half of the season saw Piastri drop to third in the standings, finishing 13 points behind Norris. That outcome came despite the Australian holding a 34-point lead following the Dutch Grand Prix.

After Zandvoort, Piastri appeared firmly in control of the championship. That advantage began to unravel after a crash in Azerbaijan, followed by a run of disappointing results in Austin, Mexico City, and Brazil. By the time the series reached Qatar and Abu Dhabi, the deficit proved too large to overcome, even though Piastri showed flashes of his early-season form.

McLaren attributed much of Piastri’s downturn to struggles on low-grip circuits, while higher-grip tracks consistently played to his strengths.

Despite the setback, Piastri believes the experience gained from fighting Norris and Max Verstappen has strengthened him heading into 2026. When asked by Australia’s 7Sport if he felt motivated for next year, Piastri said:

“Just hungry and ready for it. I’m obviously looking forward to a couple of weeks just to chill out and not think about racing.

“But when we get back into it, there’s, there’s a lot of things to learn for next year, a lot of differences with the cars and the engines.

“So, you never quite know how you’re going to come out of the gate when there’s such a big change, but I think we’re confident in the people around us.”

“And yeah, for myself, I’ve really gained a lot of confidence from some of the things from this season that I can take forward to next year, regardless of whatever car we’ve got.”

Piastri now turns his focus to applying those lessons as McLaren prepares for a new technical era and another title push.

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Written by

James Rees

A passionate motorsport journalist from Wales, with over 30 years of love for the sport. A dedicated father of three, working as a content manager, covering the fast-paced world of Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula E, and IndyCar.

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