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Full Noise by SN
Live sport on SN this weekendPiastri admits McLaren "belong" behind F1 rivals
Emily Benammar • March 15th, 2026 10:44 am
- The China GP starts at 6pm AEDT
Oscar Piastri has conceded McLaren “belong” behind the front runners as the Aussie prepares to start from fifth in the China Grand Prix.
Having failed to make the start line for his home race in Melbourne as weekend, Piastri has at least managed to secure his first points of the season in Shanghai after claiming sixth in the sprint race on Saturday.
He will start the Grand Prix from fifth with teammate Lando Norris alongside him on the grid in 6th as they were meant to have been in Australia.
The McLarens have struggled to match the pace of both Ferrari and Mercedes with the latter securing a front-row lock out for Sunday’s race in Shanghai where Kimi Antonelli became the youngest ever driver to claim pole position.
Amid the frustrations of the new regulations, which have so far favoured Mercedes, Piastri admits McLaren’s current results are probably a fair representation of where the team is.
"The last lap I did was not the greatest, so I think there's potentially a bit more in (the car)," Piastri said after qualifying.
"Reasonably happy with it. I think that's about where we kind of belong. I felt like in Q3 we maybe got a little bit closer, but we've still got some work to do."
Chinese GP Grid
- Kimi Antonelli - Mercedes (1:32.064)
- George Russell - Mercedes (1:32.286)
- Lewis Hamilton - Ferrari (1:32.415)
- Charles Leclerc - Ferrari (1:32.428)
- Oscar Piastri - McLaren (1:32.550)
- Lando Norris - McLaren (1:32.608)
- Pierre Gasly - Alpine (1:32.873)
- Max Verstappen - Red Bull (1:33.002)
- Isack Hadjar - Red Bull (1:33.121)
- Oliver Bearman - Haas (1:33.292)
- Nico Hulkenberg - Audi (1:33.354)
- Franco Colapinto - Alpine (1:33.357)
- Esteban Ocon - Haas (1:33.538)
- Liam Lawson - Racing Bulls (1:33.765)
- Arvid Lindblad - Racing Bulls (1:33.784)
- Gabriel Bortoleto - Audi (1:33.965)
- Carlos Sainz - Williams (1:34.317)
- Alex Albon - Williams (1:34.772)
- Fernando Alonso - Aston Martin (1:35.203)
- Valtteri Bottas - Cadillac (1:35.436)
- Lance Stroll - Aston Martin (1:35.995)
- Sergio Perez - Cadillac (1:36.906)
