Oscar Piastri predicts a ‘difficult’ Grand Prix in Miami. A rain race has been forecast all week at the Miami International Autodrome, and the GP Miami has even been brought forward to avoid the worst weather. Drivers have not yet driven the 2026 cars in wet conditions, leading Piastri to joke that McLaren might as well come up with a different strategy: ‘We might as well use oars’.
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The start of the GP Miami has been brought forward by three hours, but it still promises to turn into a rain race. It could then be the first time that drivers in the 2026 cars have to face the rain. Oscar Piastri therefore already predicts a ‘difficult’ Grand Prix. The driver starts seventh in the race, after a somewhat disappointing qualifying for the McLarens. Teammate Lando Norris starts the race from fourth place.
Oars
The Australian – who finished second in Japan, behind winner Andrea Kimi Antonelli – was asked by Sky Sports what it takes to repeat that trick in Miami. “I think we’ll probably be using oars,” Piastri says laughing. “If it’s wet during the Grand Prix, that’s going to throw a big wrench in the works. No one has really driven these cars in the rain and no one really knows how they will behave. Hopefully, we’re on the right side of that.”
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According to Piastri, the challenge mainly lies in energy management during the rain race. “As far as driving the car is concerned, it won’t be very different from before,” the Australian explains to the media in Miami. “It’s just about what happens with the power unit, how you get power, where you get power – that’s in the hands of the computer. The most important thing is to make sure that power unit more or less does what we expect. It’s clear that the margin for error in wet conditions is significantly small.”
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Read everything about the GP Miami here
