Photo: Race Pictures

Piastri backed to hit new season with vengeance after 2025 title miss

20:05, 05 Feb

bySamson Ero

Martin Brundle expects Oscar Piastri to return for the 2026 season with renewed determination and a fierce drive to succeed.

"I think he'll come back with a vengeance."

- Martin Brundle

The former F1 driver turned pundit, reflecting on how he anticipates Piastri will approach the new campaign, stressed that he expects the Australian to tackle the campaign with vengeance.

"I think he'll come back with a vengeance. It was partly painful, partly brilliant for him last year. He learned a lot,” Brundle said via Sky Sports F1.

Brundle further highlighted that he expects Piastri to have gained valuable lessons from his struggles in low-grip conditions and figured out a way to get the best out of his car.

Oscar Piastri in Abu Dhabi - Photo: Race Pictures

"I think 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 tyres, so he knows he's got to fix that.”

The 66-year-old, however, pointed to several of Piastri’s victories, which he labelled as impressive.

“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 drive him. We've observed him. He's an incredibly bright lad, he's clearly competitive, he's a worker, and I think he'll come back having made a big step forward,” he concluded.

Piastri’s 2025 season could largely be summed up as a tale of two halves. While he was at his best through much of the first 15 races of the season, leading the championship by 34 points, he suffered a dip in form in the final races, clinching only three podium finishes and subsequently losing out on the title to teammate Lando Norris.

Piastri admits papaya rule headache

Earlier, Piastri himself admitted that the McLaren team's “papaya rule” caused the team a few headaches that could have been avoided.

The 24-year-old acknowledged how some of the scenarios in which the rules applied were largely hypothetical, making them more difficult to apply during real race situations.