the 2005 United States Grand Prix, when most of the grid withdrew after the formation lap<\/a> amid a political storm over circuit safety.<\/p>\nExcluding USA 2005, the last time any team had both cars fail to start was at the 2002 Spanish Grand Prix, when Minardi took both Mark Webber \u2014 now Piastri\u2019s manager \u2014 and Alex Yoong off the grid due to manufacturing defects related to its car\u2019s rear wings. <\/p>\n
Historically this is grim.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a tough moment, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d McLaren boss Andrea Stella said. \u201cIf we consider that Oscar has not been able to start a race in this start of the 2026 campaign, that\u2019s pretty difficult for Oscar to process.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut at the same time, and this was testified and witnesses in the conversation with Lando and Oscar after the race, both remain quite positive.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because it\u2019s not the crisis it looks like.<\/p>\n
Even with two fewer races than expected this season, McLaren still has plenty of time to recover.<\/p>\n
Unlike its precedents and parallels, McLaren is also the reigning constructors champion and should still be in a rich vein of form.<\/p>\n
And while the circumstances are different, McLaren has a record of recovering from bad starts.<\/p>\n
PIT TALK PODCAST: Andrea Kimi Antonelli becomes Formula 1\u2019s 116th winner after claiming his maiden grand prix victory in China at the weekend, but it\u2019s disaster for McLaren \u2014 and for Oscar Piastri, who\u2019s now yet to start a grand prix in 2026 after a technical problem on the grid.<\/p>\n
WHAT\u2019S GOING WRONG?<\/p>\n
McLaren\u2019s double DNS is remarkable in the historical context, but the reason both cars failed to take the start is noteworthy in its own right.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Lando\u2019s car, in preparation for the laps to the grid, we saw that there were problems with the electrical side of the power unit,\u201d McLaren principal Andrea Stella explained. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t communicate with this component.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reports suggested the hybrid battery was the affected part.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tried to rectify the problem. We tried to change as many parts as possible without having to change that part specifically, because it would take a long time and we couldn\u2019t have made it to the start of the race.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe reprogrammed, but there was no way to fix the problem, and Lando\u2019s car was simply just not in a condition to leave the garage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Improbably, Stella explained the same part failed in Piastri\u2019s car, though in a different way.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe car was able to go to the grid with no issues at all, but once on the grid, the car wouldn\u2019t fire up again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt appears to be a problem with the same power unit component on the electrical side but a problem of a different nature.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s quite exceptional and uncharacteristic that you have two terminal problems pretty much at the same time on the same component.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looks like it\u2019s just a coincidence that they happened at the same time, at the same grand prix and they were both of a terminal nature.\u201d<\/p>\n
While McLaren understood what had failed, it couldn\u2019t say what the root cause of the issue is.<\/p>\n
But Stella did say one thing was clear immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously this is an area of the car which is not under McLaren\u2019s control,\u201d he said. \u201cWe rely entirely on what is reported by HPP (Mercedes High Performance Powertrains), and we trust completely their report.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will review together with HPP the reason for these faults, and like I\u2019ve said to everyone in the team and to HPP, we go as a one team. As a one team we will face this disappointing day, and we will make sure that it doesn\u2019t happen again in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
It comes at a somewhat awkward time for McLaren given clear-the-air talks were reportedly held between Mercedes and its customer teams over the Chinese Grand Prix weekend.<\/p>\n
In Australia, McLaren had edged towards what appeared to be criticism of Mercedes for being insufficiently forthcoming with information about how to get the most from its engines. Williams felt similarly.<\/p>\n
Autosport has reported that Wolff called a meeting to try to allay such concerns and also to seek an agreement that his customer teams would dial down their public commentary.<\/p>\n
It seemed to work, with McLaren saying in China that it believed it had closed much of the knowledge gap, only for the team to then effectively blame a Mercedes part for taking both cars out of the race \u2014 though Stella emphasised that McLaren and HPP would work as a united team to solve the problem.<\/p>\n
Alonso retires with vibration issues | 00:23<\/p>\n
UNRELIABILITY A FACT OF 2026<\/p>\n
The double McLaren-Mercedes failure happened on a weekend another Mercedes power unit failure, also related to the battery, had George Russell stop on track and almost miss out on contending in Q3.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s early days, but these are the first signs that the Mercedes motor, despite clearly being the most competitive in the sport, could have an unreliability problem.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s notable that the works team and customer squads Alpine and McLaren both suffered reliability issues at various stages during pre-season testing. <\/p>\n
Mercedes isn\u2019t the only manufacturer facing reliability questions. Despite what on the whole was a very productive pre-season testing campaign for almost every team, the first two weekends of the season have been blighted by a surprising number of race-ending faults.<\/p>\n
So far this year there\u2019s been a stunning six cases of cars failing to even make it to the grid, McLaren\u2019s China double included.<\/p>\n
Including the Shanghai sprint, there have been nine failures to finish for the year to date, plus Lance Stroll\u2019s unclassified finish in Melbourne, when he completed too few laps to be declared a finisher. Only one of those 10 failures was due to crash damage.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a remarkably high attrition rate, albeit not quite as high as the 14 failures to finish in the opening two rounds of the 2014 season, the last time the engine rules changed.<\/p>\n
McLaren has taken a large single dose on behalf of the Mercedes stable, but several other teams have also been suffering.<\/p>\n
Red Bull Racing \u2014 this year with an in-house engine for the first time \u2014 has suffered two DNFs so far, for Isack Hadjar in Melbourne and Max Verstappen in Shanghai.<\/p>\n
Audi recorded DNFs in Australia and the Shanghai sprint before a DNS for the China feature race, though the team was non-specific about its issues.<\/p>\n
Honda\u2019s dramas are well understood, with the team yet to have a car classified in a grand prix.<\/p>\n
Only Ferrari appears so far to be immune from major dramas, with Cadillac\u2019s problems ascribed to the team\u2019s newcomer status.<\/p>\n
You can look at this in one of two ways: that McLaren has been unlucky to be so badly affected, or that luck comes in swings and roundabouts for all teams and its misfortune will surely balance out by the end of the season.<\/p>\n
Antonelli claims Chinese GP | 02:23<\/p>\n
ENGINES AREN\u2019T THE ONLY PROBLEM<\/p>\n
\u201cAnnoying,\u201d is how the typically understated Piastri described the drama.<\/p>\n
But saliently he added: \u201cBesides that, we know we\u2019ve got work to do to find more performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the crucial second part of the equation, because as much as McLaren feels that it hasn\u2019t yet found the same level of engine performance as Mercedes despite equal machinery, it\u2019s clear that its car isn\u2019t up to the job yet.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been only two rounds, but McLaren is clearly the third-best car, with only its giant-killing sprint qualifying performance pumping up its numbers relative to Ferrari.<\/p>\n
Average gap to fastest, frontrunners<\/p>\n
1. Mercedes: fastest<\/p>\n
2. Ferrari: 0.725 seconds<\/p>\n
3. McLaren: 0.742 seconds<\/p>\n
4. Red Bull Racing: 1.134 seconds<\/p>\n
Even if its single-lap pace looked competitive with Ferrari in China, in the sprint it was clear its race pace wasn\u2019t in the same class.<\/p>\n
Having the same power unit as Mercedes is the giveaway, even if it\u2019s not getting as much out of it. The telemetry also backs up that McLaren has a chassis deficit, with the car slower through the corners than its Mercedes and Ferrari rivals.<\/p>\n
But even if McLaren didn\u2019t expect to start so far back, the team also didn\u2019t think it would be starting on the front foot.<\/p>\n
Stella said in January that the car used during pre-season testing would be largely unchanged for the opening rounds of the season. It finalised its launch-spec car late, so it was relatively mature in the first place, but it wanted to validate what it had before committing to manufacturing its first significant upgrade package.<\/p>\n
That first big update is unlikely to be enough to close the gap to Mercedes, but it doesn\u2019t mean it can\u2019t get there once its development program starts delivering.<\/p>\n
Charles Leclerc certainly believes the form guide will change significantly this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve said it multiple times, but I really think that this year is going to be all about development,\u201d he told Sky Sports on Sunday, though he added: \u201cBut Mercedes is extremely strong, so \u2026 if we manage to turn that situation around, it would be very impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n
F1 makes call on Middle East races | 00:21<\/p>\n
McLaren, though, has form here.<\/p>\n
In 2023 it started with one of the grid\u2019s worst cars, failing to score in the first two rounds while it dealt with a lack of reliability and pace.<\/p>\n
But an internal restructuring turned the season around rapidly. An upgrade in Austria turned into success podium finished in Silverstone Budapest, and McLaren finished fourth in the constructors championship.<\/p>\n
A better but still slow start in 2024 was flipped with its famous Miami upgrade that took Norris to his first victory. The team won the constructors championship at the end of the year, and last year it claimed both titles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think what we have gone through at McLaren in terms of the journey from 2023 has been such a good journey of developing a culture, a mindset, of what we call internally a winner\u2019s mindset,\u201d Stella said on Sunday night. \u201c[It\u2019s] just a positive attitude which focuses us on what we can control.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this case there wasn\u2019t much we could have controlled, so we just take any possible learning and we go again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe say even looking at last year, when we won the double championship, the victory was not in Abu Dhabi; the victory was in Qatar and in Vegas for the way we withstood the difficulties. That\u2019s where you really become a champion.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday is part of the same journey, which is the day you have to withstand a difficulty, you have to process it and you have to use it to become even more of a worthwhile champion in the future and gain the qualities to be a champion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s our mindset, and I\u2019ve seen it completely at play today with Oscar, with Lando and with the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s too early to say whether the points lost in China will sting in the final tally.<\/p>\n
But McLaren has been here before. Even if the circumstances are different, it knows the outcome can be the same.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s too early to count the reigning constructors champion out of the running.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This isn\u2019t the kind of history Oscar Piastri signed up for. Two rounds into the 2026 season, Piastri…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545498,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[944,12295,13273,270133,1724,268811,64,63,689,3159,2071,268803,13275,270147,512,264166,270136,268809,2055,270143,259948,270132,9239,268797,268808,268812,15186,81126,51270,2057,817,59959,845,112376,28118,813,816,3875,841,21782,270140,246263,21785,270152,859,825,647,270135,270134,677,2119,18923,268799,270137,51043,16260,13777,21749,270150,231332,270144,4933,2643,85,270146,270151,270138,270148,268801,270145,270141,270149,81103,270142,270139,109459,660,12000,2062,16198,161884],"class_list":["post-545497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-abu-dhabi","tag-andrea-kimi-antonelli","tag-andrea-stella","tag-andy-wong","tag-asia","tag-attrition-rate","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-austria","tag-belgium","tag-car-vibrations","tag-charles-leclerc","tag-chassis-deficit","tag-china","tag-chinese-grand","tag-circuit-safety","tag-claims-chinese","tag-constructors-championship","tag-customer-squads","tag-customer-teams","tag-development-program-starts","tag-eastern-asia","tag-electrical-issue","tag-electrical-issue-ends","tag-electrical-side","tag-engine-failure","tag-engine-performance","tag-engine-rules","tag-europe","tag-f1","tag-feature-race","tag-fernando-alonso","tag-final-tally","tag-formation-lap","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-george-russell","tag-grand-prix","tag-grand-prix-victory","tag-hyper-professional-era","tag-knowledge-gap","tag-maiden-grand-prix","tag-manufacturing-defects","tag-mark-webber","tag-max-verstappen","tag-melbourne","tag-newcomer-status","tag-numbers-relative","tag-oceania","tag-pit-talk","tag-power-unit","tag-power-unit-component","tag-pre-race-practice","tag-pre-season-testing","tag-qatar","tag-qualifying-session","tag-race-pace","tag-reigning-constructors","tag-reliability-issues","tag-reliability-questions","tag-shanghai","tag-sky-sports","tag-sports","tag-story-shares","tag-striking-similarities","tag-success-podium","tag-terminal-nature","tag-terminal-problems","tag-third-best-car","tag-tony-maggs","tag-two-car-history","tag-unit-failure","tag-unprecedented-stuttering-start","tag-unreliability-problem","tag-upgrade-package","tag-victoria","tag-western-asia","tag-western-europe","tag-works-team","tag-world-championship-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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