Sky F1’s Martin Brundle has thrown a tantalising warning to the rest of the Formula 1 grid: Oscar Piastri is not licking his wounds – he’s sharpening his claws.
After falling short of the 2025 world championship despite a season packed with victories and front-row battles, the McLaren star is, in Brundle’s eyes, primed for retaliation. And not just a gentle rebound. A full-blooded counter-attack.
For much of last season, it was Piastri and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris trading blows at the very front of the field. The Australian even held the statistical edge heading into the summer, boasting six Grand Prix wins to Norris’s five.
The championship narrative, at that stage, felt delicately poised in Piastri’s favour. Then the tide turned.
Norris surged back with clinical consistency, while Max Verstappen stormed into the late-season conversation with typical Red Bull ferocity.
The closing stretch reshuffled the order brutally: Norris clinched his maiden drivers’ crown, Verstappen snatched second in the standings, and Piastri – once the apparent frontrunner – slipped to third.
It was not merely a missed opportunity. It was a painful lesson delivered on the sport’s biggest stage.
Back With a Vengeance
Yet Brundle believes that disappointment may prove to be the most dangerous ingredient of all heading into 2026 – a season already buzzing with anticipation thanks to the sport’s sweeping new technical regulations.
“I think he’ll come back with a vengeance, to be honest,” Brundle told Sky Sports F1. “It was partly painful, partly brilliant for him last year. He learned a lot.
"I think that it’s openly accepted that on the really low-grip circuits, he’s not getting the best out of the car and out of the tyre, so he knows he’s got to fix that.”
©McLaren
Brundle’s assessment cuts to the heart of Piastri’s evolution. The raw speed is undeniable; the victories were emphatic. But the margins that define champions often live in the fine print – tyre management, adaptability, and extracting performance when grip vanishes.
“But some of the victories he’s had were so dominant, so impressive. I think he’ll take a lot from that. I’m sure it was painful in the end for him and I think that will be a driver [for him this season],” the Briton added.
“We’ve observed him. He’s an incredibly bright lad and he’s clearly competitive. He’s a worker. I think he’ll come back having made a big step forward.”
Perfect Timing for a Reset
The timing could hardly be more dramatic. The 2026 season ushers in a fresh regulatory era, often a golden window for drivers capable of rapid adaptation.
Piastri, entering his fourth year in Formula 1 at just 24, now combines youth with hard-earned experience — a potent blend if McLaren delivers a competitive package.
The team’s new livery will be unveiled on 9 February, followed swiftly by Bahrain testing across two intensive phases later that month. The real fireworks begin in early March at the Australian Grand Prix – Piastri’s home race and, perhaps, the perfect stage for a statement of intent.
If Brundle’s prediction holds true, the rest of the paddock may soon discover that finishing third in 2025 was not a setback for Piastri. It was a warning.
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