Oscar Piastri Slams F1’s ‘Computers Behaving or Misbehaving’ Approach to Grids

Oscar Piastri has vented his frustration at Formula 1’s power unit software, saying qualifying grids are increasingly being “decided by computers behaving or misbehaving” rather than pure driving performance.

The McLaren driver’s comments followed a difficult Belgian Grand Prix weekend in which he qualified seventh, three places behind teammate Lando Norris, a result he felt did not reflect matching Norris through the corners at Spa-Francorchamps.

“It sucks. I can’t really say it any other way than that,” Piastri said of how heavily the electrical side of the 2026 power units now shapes results. “When you’ve got qualifying grids decided by computers behaving or misbehaving, it’s a pretty c— way of going racing.”

Power deployment the recurring theme at Spa

Piastri was far from alone in raising the issue at Spa-Francorchamps, the most power sensitive circuit on the 2026 calendar given its long flat out sections. George Russell blamed Mercedes after his car was drained of battery almost immediately at the start of the race, contributing to a first lap crash, while Max Verstappen, F1’s most vocal critic of the new engine rules all season, could not resist another dig after finishing third.

“Welcome to F1 2026,” Verstappen said. “Sometimes it can be a jungle.”

For Piastri, the frustration was less about the result and more about the lack of clarity behind it. “I certainly wouldn’t have been the only person,” he said. “I know George has had a lot of issues with that this weekend, and maybe the last couple of weekends. And speaking to some others, it’s a similar story.

“Here it’s obviously exaggerated a lot and made worse, but yeah, when you come in from a qualifying session, you look at all the corners and go, ‘I’m on par with my teammate and yet I’m two tenths behind at the end of it.’ It’s not a very nice feeling.”

Software that learns lap to lap

The 2026 power units run software capable of adjusting energy deployment in real time, learning from data gathered on previous laps of a circuit. A shift in wind direction or a handful of other variables outside a driver’s control can leave two near identical cars with noticeably different power outputs from one lap to the next.

Charles Leclerc, who finished second at Spa, described wrestling with the same unpredictability through practice and qualifying. “These power units are so complex that there are some days when you scratch your head trying to understand why you are losing so much on the straights. That was a bit the case for me on Friday and in FP3.

“Then, in qualifying, things went well again by slightly fine-tuning things. It’s just very difficult, but also very frustrating sometimes for a driver because, even when you are doing your best, there are things in the background that change constantly, and that’s not so nice.”

With Formula 1 heading to Budapest this weekend for the final round before the summer break, Piastri and his rivals will be hoping the Hungaroring, a circuit far less demanding on straight line power, offers a more predictable test of raw pace.

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Written by

Jarrod Partridge

Jarrod Partridge is the Co-Founder of F1 Chronicle and an FIA accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following Formula 1. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered F1 races at circuits around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every race report, driver profile, and technical analysis he writes.

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