{"id":441965,"date":"2026-01-30T01:07:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T01:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/441965\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T01:07:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T01:07:13","slug":"mclaren-explains-issue-that-cut-oscar-piastris-first-day-of-2026-short","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/441965\/","title":{"rendered":"McLaren Explains Issue That Cut Oscar Piastri\u2019s First Day of 2026 Short"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oscar Piastri’s first on-track action in the new McLaren Formula 1 car was cut short by a reliability issue on day four of pre-season testing.<\/p>\n

The reigning constructors’ champions only hit the track for the first time on Wednesday – three days into the test – with Lando Norris running with the number 1 on his car for the first time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Teams are busy getting used to new machinery over the five-day test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which is being held behind closed doors.<\/p>\n

Piastri’s day ends early\"Oscar<\/p>\n

McLaren F1 Team<\/p>\n

And while information regarding issues affecting rivals has been scarce when things have gone wrong, McLaren and Piastri have been forthcoming in explaining what forced the Australian to end his day after just 48 laps.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was nice to be back out today, especially in the new car,” said Piastri, who finished third in the drivers’ standings last term. “There\u2019s a lot of challenges this year up and down the grid, so it was good to get stuck in. We had a fuel system issue, which cut our day short, but the team\u2019s working hard to get that fixed and back out tomorrow.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThese cars are completely different to what we\u2019ve had the last few years. That\u2019s part of what this test is about. We\u2019ve already identified a few things that we can try to improve on the car to make it feel a bit nicer. We have one more day of running tomorrow. <\/p>\n

“We\u2019ll continue to get used to the car and get a good read on how different things feel. Then we\u2019ll find a good direction to make the car quicker and feel nicer.\u201d <\/p>\n

McLaren’s technical director of performance, Mark Temple, revealed why the issue meant Piastri couldn’t return to the track in the afternoon.<\/p>\n

Full send in the MCL40, OP style \ud83d\ude80#McLarenF1<\/a> | #F1<\/a> \ud83e\udde1 pic.twitter.com\/z05dkF1Zm7<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team \ud83e\udde1 (@McLarenF1) January 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

“This is a shakedown and is meant to help us identify any issues so we can understand and solve them going into Bahrain, so that\u2019s our big focus as we go into the final day tomorrow,” he said. \u201cOf course, it\u2019s a shame we could not run in the afternoon as every minute of track time is precious at such an early stage of the season. <\/p>\n

“We discovered a fuel system problem, which meant we haven\u2019t been able to do all the running we would like. The car is very complex, so we decided to bring the car back into the garage and strip it down to fully understand where the problem is coming from, ahead of tomorrow\u2019s running.\u201d<\/p>\n

Piastri and Norris will split duties on Friday, with two further tests lined up in Bahrain next month before the season opener in Australia.<\/p>\n

The Latest Formula 1 News<\/p>\n