McLaren driver Oscar Piastri has been positioned as a notable outlier in various F1 2026 mid-season driver ratings, with one assessment placing him 12th overall. This ranking comes despite his current seventh position in the Drivers’ Championship standings. The discrepancy highlights a season marked by both strong performances and significant challenges for the Australian.
Piastri currently holds P7 in the 2026 Drivers’ Championship with 92 points after 11 rounds of the season. His teammate, Lando Norris, sits higher in fifth place with 128 points. McLaren occupies third position in the Constructors’ Championship with a total of 220 points.
The mid-season period has seen Piastri acknowledge a challenging campaign. He stated that the opening 11 races of the 2026 Formula 1 season have contained ‘more lows than highs’. This self-assessment reflects a season that has not consistently met expectations.
Early in the season, Piastri encountered significant setbacks. He failed to start his home race at the Australian Grand Prix due to a pre-race crash, which was deemed his fault. A subsequent technical issue also prevented him from starting the Chinese Grand Prix.
Despite these initial difficulties and reliability concerns with the Mercedes power unit, Piastri has secured two podium finishes this season. He achieved a second-place finish at the Japanese Grand Prix and a third-place result at the Miami Grand Prix.
Piastri also demonstrated strong pace at the Hungarian Grand Prix, leading the race before a gearbox failure forced his retirement. This incident occurred after an on-track impediment involving Carlos Sainz.
McLaren has shown signs of progress, particularly with upgrades introduced on the MCL40. These developments contributed to a commanding pace at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where Lando Norris secured a victory for the team.
Piastri has also had to adapt to the new 2026 technical regulations, which have necessitated new driving techniques to optimize electrical energy usage. He noted that this has pushed him out of his comfort zone.
The current season follows a highly successful 2025 campaign for McLaren, where the team secured the Constructors’ Championship. Lando Norris also claimed the Drivers’ Championship in 2025, setting a high benchmark for the current year.
