Piastri's manager states that McLaren 'must resolve problems.'

      According to Oscar Piastri's manager, Mark Webber, McLaren's title defense is increasingly showing signs of distress. The ex-Formula 1 driver is worried about a growing number of reliability issues, highlighted by Lando Norris's retirement in Monaco after facing technical difficulties for the second consecutive race weekend. "China, Montreal, and now Monaco," Webber remarked. "There are too many issues within the system."

      Norris experienced a retirement related to the power unit in Monaco after reporting: "No power, no battery." This incident followed George Russell's battery-related retirement while he was leading in Canada, raising concerns that Mercedes’ customer teams might also be impacted. "They will obviously be working hard to understand what’s happening—whether it's issues with Mercedes, the battery, or other factors," Webber stated. "They've secured two championships, so they know their way around. However, this has been a challenging period for the entire team." "They need to resolve these problems."

      McLaren team principal Andrea Stella acknowledged that reliability has become a significant issue. "We have not been consistent enough," he said. "If we examine our reliability, we've faced problems in all areas of the car." The Italian believes that McLaren's position as a Mercedes customer team is increasingly becoming a disadvantage under the new 2026 regulations. "Now more than ever, we feel that being a customer team has put us at a disadvantage," Stella conceded. "It’s not merely a lower priority; there are fewer chances to integrate everything and adhere to the same timeline."

      In addition to reliability issues, McLaren is also facing challenges with outright speed. Norris mentioned in Monaco that the team was "six tenths of a second off over a single lap," while Stella noted that both Monaco and Canada revealed deeper performance concerns. "We haven’t been fast enough," he admitted. "Especially regarding race pace, both in Canada and here." According to Stella, the car currently lacks grip and aerodynamic load. "Nor do we manage to get the tires into the optimal performance window," he added.

      Despite these challenges, Stella remains hopeful for another turnaround akin to 2024. "We maintain the mindset that this could again resemble 2024, where we regroup at the end," he said. However, he also acknowledged that the current outlook appears less promising. "In 2024, our trajectory was more convincing in terms of reliability and performance."