Formula 1 icon David Coulthard believes if the McLaren misery continues, Oscar Piastri could walk out the door.
The Australian has failed to complete a single lap of a full-format race in 2026 despite the season being two races in.
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Piastri crashed out on the formation lap at the Australian Grand Prix, before he was wheeled off the grid in China due to an electrical failure.
The disastrous start means his hopes of winning a maiden Formula 1 crown are all but over as the reigning constructors champions sit firmly behind the eight ball.
Despite being contracted with McLaren until the end of the 2028 season, rumours began to swirl at the end of last year that he was looking for a way out following months of preferential treatment speculation.
All of that piled on top of the horror start to the season has left Coulthard believing Piastri’s time with McLaren could come to an early finish.
“Well, I think there will be a lot of questions there, about not only the short-term future, but taking a longer term view of where their opportunities lie,” Coulthard said on the Up To Speed podcast.
“Race drivers are light bulbs. They get screwed in when they shine bright, and they get taken out. And in the same way a team can do that to a driver, a driver can do it to a team.”
Piastri will be hoping McLaren can get to the bottom of the issues that saw both he and Lando Norris fail to start the China Grand Prix ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix in two weeks.
The pre-race disaster meant it was the first race in 21 years, since 2005, that both McLaren cars didn’t take the start.
For Piastri it’s even more damning, he became the first McLaren driver in 57 years that has not started the first two races of a season.
Coulthard said the reigning constructors’ champion is in a world of hurt, stating the wheels have come off.
“We have to talk McLaren, my old team, the highs of the last couple of years to, well, it’s been pretty dismal, hasn’t it,” Coulthard said.
“And the wheels have truly come off the wagon in that to have both cars not starting the Grand Prix.
“I spoke to Oscar as he was walking away from the grid to go for a toilet break, and he made the comment, ‘Well, at least I’ve made the grid this time’.
“Little did he know, by the time he got back from the toilet, his car was off the grid.
“So, the cars are clearly unreliable. They’re pointing the finger at their engine supplier, which is Mercedes Benz. How quickly things change.”
Despite watching on for the second straight race, Piastri had a wry smile on his face as he spoke to the media as the China Grand Prix got underway.
He said he was not aware of the issue until he “got out of the car”.
“It’s an electrical issue on the PU side. It’s disappointing,” he said.
Piastri was clearly distracted when interviewed during the race, trying to look over his shoulder to watch the race unfold on a nearby TV screen inside the F1 pit lane paddock.
“It’s been a while since I’ve watched two F1 races from the sideline. The Ferrari’s look pretty quick at the moment, so we’ll see how long that laughs for.”
Piastri and McLaren will be hoping for some better fortune when the F1 grid heads to the famous Suzuka Circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29.
