Lewis Hamilton recently highlighted Mercedes\u2019 \u2018Straight Line Mode\u2019 as a key weapon, and Oscar Piastri admitted to an \u201cinteresting\u201d observation of how it closed in China.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, Piastri<\/a> is unsure just how much of a role this plays in the impressive performance of the Mercedes W17. Piastri believes that, on the power unit side, lap times are proving sensitive to \u201csmall differences\u201d that will \u201cadd up incredibly quickly\u201d. As such, from lap to lap even, a driver can have \u201cwildly different\u201d speed in a straight line.<\/p>\n Oscar Piastri questions Mercedes straight-line speed advantage<\/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 Mercedes has proved the class of the field so far in F1 2026, locking out the front row at all three rounds.<\/p>\n The Silver Arrows also boast a 100 per cent victory record, George Russell having won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, before Kimi Antonelli took the chequered flag in China and Japan.<\/p>\n McLaren provided Mercedes with arguably its sternest test of F1 2026 yet in Japan.<\/p>\n Piastri\u2019s storming start put him into the lead, and the Melbourne native was holding off a recovering Russell.<\/p>\n Ultimately, a Safety Car appearance was timed perfectly for Antonelli, who was able to make a cheap pit stop to grab hold of the race lead. He duly pulled away from Piastri to win by over 13 seconds.<\/p>\n Ahead of the Japanese GP, Piastri was told that Ferrari\u2019s drivers believed Mercedes\u2019 Straight Line Mode active aero to be more powerful.<\/p>\n Ferrari\u2019s Lewis Hamilton had said at the Chinese GP that when Mercedes \u201copen up the ESM \u2013 that\u2019s when they take a huge step<\/a>\u201c.<\/p>\n Piastri was asked whether this is what McLaren \u2013 a Mercedes engine customer \u2013 is seeing also.<\/p>\n \u201cNot sure. We definitely saw the way the Straight Mode closes in China, which was interesting, but I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s anything to do with Straight Mode itself.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we kind of understand where we\u2019re losing a bit in terms of the power unit usage.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure maybe there\u2019s something there as well, but there\u2019s just little bits everywhere, and especially on the power unit side of things, small differences, or seemingly small differences, add up incredibly quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd even teams from lap to lap, or driver to driver within the same team, you make mistakes at one point and it somehow helps you at a different point in the lap, or weird stuff happens. So I think even looking at driver to driver within the same team, or even lap to lap from the same driver, the straight-line speed can look wildly different.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Oscar Piastri from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n Oscar Piastri: Zak Brown relationship \u2018only stronger\u2019 after \u2018tough moments\u2019 in 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Oscar Piastri: \u2018Nothing magical\u2019 creating Mercedes\u2019 F1 2026 advantage<\/a><\/p>\n After a challenging start to F1 2026, Piastri gave McLaren a much-needed boost at Suzuka with that P2 in his first grand prix start of the year.<\/p>\n Having collected three world titles over the last two seasons, McLaren is out to re-claim its position at the top of the sport.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ve got optimism that we can improve in the future,\u201d said Piastri. \u201cI think we\u2019ve got the proof that we\u2019ve done that in the past.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s obviously going to take time, but I think we\u2019re all confident that we can achieve that. We all have that taste of success, now we want to get back to it.\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