McLaren recorded a double DNS at the F1 2026 Chinese Grand Prix after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri suffered late technical problems. The Melbourne-based Australian driver never made it out of the garage on race day at Shanghai International Circuit, abandoning what had been a credible opportunity to challenge the championship frontrunners.
McLaren confirmed around an hour before the race start that the team had identified an electronic issue on Norris's car, with mechanics removing the floor to check a number of parts. Despite the team expressing confidence that the problem had been rectified, Norris failed to make it out of the garage for the traditional pre-race reconnaissance laps. An issue was also spotted on Piastri's car just moments before the start of the formation lap with the Australian returning to the garage.
The double failure represents a significant setback for a team that had begun to close the performance gap to Mercedes and Ferrari. Piastri and Norris had qualified fifth and sixth respectively for Sunday's race in Shanghai. Oscar Piastri believed that McLaren were "about where we belong" after taking P5 and P6 in Qualifying for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix, with Lando Norris suggesting that the team were "a step behind" their rivals.
The technical failures add another layer of frustration to what has been an unforgiving start to the 2026 season for Piastri. He also failed to start his home race in Melbourne last weekend due to an accident on the reconnaissance lap. Piastri is believed to be one of the few drivers in F1 history to record a DNS in consecutive races.
It is the first time in the team's history that McLaren has failed to make the start of a grand prix with two cars due to reliability. The team also failed to make the start at the 1966 Belgian and Dutch grands prix, where just a single car – driven by late team founder Bruce McLaren – was entered.
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli led the field from pole as F1's youngest-ever polesitter, followed by George Russell and the two Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, and then a gaping hole on the third row which was supposed to be occupied by the papaya McLarens. The absence of both McLaren entries highlighted the gap that had opened up, leaving the Woking-based squad with significant questions to answer in the coming weeks as the season continues.