Oscar Piastri warns of 'abnormalities' over growing F1 concern

Oscar Piastri believes F1 drivers will face "abnormalities" at multiple grands prix in 2026 when it comes to energy harvesting. 

The new power units feature a 50-50 split in power output between the internal combustion engine and the beefed-up batteries. 

This requires the drivers to harvest energy on a greater scale than in 2025, with concerns being raised through testing about the amount of lift and coasting required to ensure depletion does not leave the drivers with ICE power only. 

At circuits with heavy braking zones, such as Bahrain and Canada's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, energy harvesting will be less of a concern than at circuits with long straights and a lack of heavy braking, such as Australia's Albert Park or Saudi Arabia's Jeddah Corniche. 

It is here Piastri feels the biggest "abnormalities" will be seen in the racing.

"From the simulator running I've done, it's very different, and I think at certain tracks, we're going to be much more harvest-limited than we are [in Bahrain for testing]," Piastri told media, including RacingNews365. 

"Depending on where you set your optimality, you won't have too much super clipping or lift and coasting, whereas in Melbourne, if you didn't do any, you'd be running out of energy pretty quickly.

"It just depends on the layout of the circuit. Jeddah is another one where you have a few straights linked together by fast corners, where it is going to be very difficult to harvest; that's where most kinds of abnormality are going to come. 

"There are going to be some big differences, but you can change things around a lot. 

"[In testing], we've seen people in Turn 12, and you can definitely make that a corner if you want to, but at the moment, it is all kind of set before you get in the car.

"You can change it on the fly, but it is a bit different because you're not just managing on the throttle. 

"Melbourne is going to look quite different, and I think it will be a challenge for us all."