Oscar Piastri believes the current F1 engine regulations are a "pretty crap" way of qualifying for races, as he pondered the "exaggeration" of George Russell's vocal comments.
Russell has struggled badly over the previous two grand prix weekends with a lack of straight line speed, and was particularly damning after his elimination on the first lap of the Belgian GP, where a lack of power left him vulnerable on the run to Les Combes, where he collided with Lewis Hamilton.
The issue affecting Russell is, fundamentally, down to his lack of available battery energy, as he is not harvesting enough through corners to then deploy on straights, and lost nearly four-tenths to team-mate Kimi Antonelli in the final sector alone in qualifying at Spa.
The power output of the engines is 50:50 for 2026, but the central pillar of the new regulations will be amended for both 2027 and 2028 to increase reliance on the ICE and reduce dependence on the battery.
Spa was regarded as the toughest test of the season for drivers with it being an energy-starved circuit with a lack of heavy-braking zones to recharge the batteries, as McLaren's Piastri defended Russell's criticism as he gave further insight into the balancing act of mastering the new engines.
"I know George has had a lot of issues over the weekend, and speaking to some others, it is a similar story," Piastri began to tell media, including RacingNews365.
"When you've got qualifying grids decided by computers behaving or misbehaving, that is a pretty crap way of going racing, so [Russell] is obviously going to exaggerate it and make it look a lot worse.
"But when you come in from a qualifying session, you look at all the corners and go: 'I'm on par with my team-mate, and I'm two-tenths behind at the end of it, it is not a nice feeling.
"It is to do with how the system manages things, and the change in fuel flow and less deployment is not going to fix those specific issues; it is to do with how the engine is calibrated and how it learns; it is ingrained into these engines.
"Obviously, it will get better as all the manufacturers understand the engines more, and it is not just a problem for us or Mercedes; it is a problem with all the engines speaking to some of the other drivers.
"It is not ideal, but it is happening for everyone; it is happening for other engine manufacturers as well, so it is not a us-specific problem, but the engines are so complicated.
"They are so sensitive to everything, and even things you do on an out-lap can dictate what happens, so it is a very tricky way of going racing."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Samuel Coop and Nick Golding as they look back on the Belgian GP and look ahead to this weekend's race in Hungary. George Russell's major setback is a key discussion, as is Toto Wolff stating Mercedes has the best power unit.
Rather watch this episode? Then click here!
Get the latest F1 news from RacingNews365 directly in your Google feed! Click on the link below and you’ll see your favourite F1 website appearing even more often. That way, you’ll never miss any news, analyses, interviews, or exclusives.
Follow RacingNews365 on GoogleMost read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..
Join the conversation!