Oscar Piastri may not have become World Champion last year, but, looking back on his year as a whole, he sees marked progress.<\/p>\n
Off the track, he has been able to make some adjustments in pursuit of a successful F1 2026 title tilt. On the track, testing has been vital in helping him figure out the tools he needs. Piastri<\/a> revealed that the support which he has received back home in Melbourne \u201cwas up another level\u201d as he returned during the off-season.<\/p>\n Oscar Piastri details 2025 lessons and Melbourne support boost<\/p>\n Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for news you can trust.<\/p>\n Piastri led the 2025 Drivers\u2019 Championship for much of the season. But, a dip in form on the lower-grip circuits, coincided with a Lando Norris and Max Verstappen resurgence.<\/p>\n The end result was Piastri\u2019s McLaren teammate Norris becoming World Champion, with Piastri unable to improve on third with a late-season return to form.<\/p>\n Piastri returned home to Melbourne over the winter, and soon will head back there for the F1 2026 season-opener at Albert Park.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a busy season once again, and obviously, opening in Melbourne is great. Very busy, though,\u201d Piastri told 7News.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nice to be going into the new season starting from home. The level of support in Melbourne has always been fantastic. But the last time I went home over Christmas, not long ago, the support was up another level.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I\u2019m looking forward to going back home and racing.\u201d<\/p>\n Expanding further on the boost in support which he has experienced, Piastri added: \u201cA few more people knew who I was.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I think for me, the biggest thing was just how many people said, well done, or just kind of acknowledged me in the street or wherever I was, was very cool.<\/p>\n \u201cEven though the result of 2025 wasn\u2019t exactly what I wanted, the support was fantastic all the way through. It was nothing but positivity, which was great.\u201d<\/p>\n 2025 was a story of highs and lows for Piastri. He led the Drivers\u2019 Championship by 34 points at one stage, but was made to pay for his six-race run without a podium.<\/p>\n It can be easy to forget that Piastri was only in his third F1 season when that strong whiff of a title arrived.<\/p>\n Piastri was asked how he has dealt with what played out in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, just trying to look at it like that, acknowledge the good moments and the bad,\u201d he said. \u201cI think every single season is going to have its ups and downs, and that was certainly the case last year.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I think compared to the first couple of years of my F1 career, there were significantly more ups, which was great, and plenty of lessons learned in some of those tougher moments and tougher weekends.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I think for me, just acknowledging the year as a whole, I think it was a really good step forward from 2024, with still some things to work on, some things to improve. So that\u2019s how I try and look at it.<\/p>\n \u201cYou always learn more in the tougher moments or the bad moments. I think I definitely learned some lessons and things I can take forward into 2026 through that, but also, proved to myself more than anything, that when I get everything together and kind of maximise my potential, that it\u2019s good enough to win races.\u201d<\/p>\n Piastri was asked whether he has identified the tools which he needs to take the next step, and become World Champion in 2026.<\/p>\n Latest on Oscar Piastri and McLaren from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n Oscar Piastri clarifies reduced Mark Webber trackside role in F1 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Lando Norris admits McLaren \u2018a little bit off\u2019 rivals in race trim<\/a><\/p>\n The transition from last season to this has not been simple for any driver, with new chassis and engine regulations having changed the game.<\/p>\n Energy management is a topic which has been heavily debated among the drivers. The increase in electrical power from the engine means managing the batteries will be a key part of F1 2026 competition.<\/p>\n \u201cStill figuring out, I think,\u201d Piastri admitted on the driving side.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of the lessons from last year, yes. I think they\u2019re not necessarily things that are always in the car, so to speak, or they\u2019re not necessarily attached to driving specifically, they\u2019re just a bit broader in terms of the topics.<\/p>\n \u201cBut in terms of the driving, figuring out the tools I need to drive as fast as I can, that\u2019s what testing is so critical for this year. Learning again.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom previous years, it was kind of all the cars, year to year, needed the same driving style, needed the same things, more or less, with some subtle tweaks. Whereas this year, we\u2019re getting to know what the car likes, what it doesn\u2019t like, what the power unit likes, what it doesn\u2019t like. So there\u2019s much more kind of experimentation and exploration on that side of things.<\/p>\n \u201cSo yeah, that\u2019s kind of developing the tools. But I think some of the ones more off track, and just how I approach the weekends, how I approach the season, there\u2019s definitely some lessons from last year that I can take into 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n