McLaren show signs of life in Japan after difficult start to 2026 F1 season
It goes without saying that McLaren have had a challenging start to the 2026 Formula 1 season.
The Brackley-based team took home both the Drivers’ championship and Constructors’ championship trophies last year, but came into the new era struggling.
In Australia, Lando Norris crossed the line in P5. However, the reigning world champion was far off the pace of Mercedes and Ferrari up ahead.
Oscar Piastri, meanwhile, did not compete in his home race as he crashed his McLaren on the way to the grid during the pre-race reconnaissance laps.
In China, it got worse for the Papaya family as they suffered a double DNS due to two separate, unrelated electrical failures within the Mercedes power unit systems on both cars.
Piastri leads McLaren resurgence in Suzuka
The Japanese Grand Prix, however, saw a different McLaren.
Piastri qualified in P3 and finished the race on the second step of the podium. The Australian even led the race after taking the lead from Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
The Australian managed to keep the other Mercedes - George Russell - behind him in the opening stages, before eventually losing out to race winner Antonelli during the Safety Car.
With the aim to keep track position, Piastri pitted on Lap 18, prompting Mercedes to then pit Russell on Lap 21.
However, one lap later, the Safety Car was deployed following Ollie Bearman's 50G crash.
With that, Antonelli got a free pit stop, pushing him into the lead, and his second race win of the season.
Meanwhile, Norris qualified in P5, where he saw the chequered flag.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Haas’ Ollie Bearman reflects on ‘scary’ 50G crash as Suzuka incident sparks safety concerns
Encouraging progress despite missed opportunity
“We were in condition to start the race with two cars, which is the first time this year, and we were in condition to complete the race," team principal Andrea Stella said post-race.
"I think today we confirmed the progress that we saw yesterday in Qualifying, progress that allowed Oscar to lead the race after a very good start.
“We were surprised ourselves, especially at the end of the first stint, where we not only were able to keep Russell behind, but we were also opening the gap at the end of the first stint.
“So, we thought that we should go first, so that we could retain the leadership, because we wanted to give it a go at winning the race.”
McLaren not only surprised themselves, but they also surprised the sport as a whole.
The reigning champions' next test comes in a month’s time, when F1 heads to Miami on the weekend of May 1-3.
READ NEXT: Boxing analysis: Moses Itauma, the future of British heavyweight boxing
