The Australian looked set to finish where he started in seventh before late retirements for Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc lifted him two places to fifth, while teammate Lando Norris inherited the final podium position in third.
It continued a tricky start to 2026 for Piastri and McLaren, with the team falling to third in the constructors’ championship and Piastri sitting sixth in the drivers’ standings, 12 months after both had led their respective championships following the same race.
While the new regulations and improved form of McLaren’s rivals have played a key part in that shift, 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg said Piastri’s standing had taken a hit compared to last season.
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“Not going too well for him as of late. His market value has taken a bit of a plunge in the last weeks and months,” Rosberg said on Sky Sports.
“A bit unexpected because last year he was really on a par with Lando all the time, and this year Lando has jumped ahead somewhat.
“With these new regulations, new cars, Oscar is not feeling too comfortable yet. So it’s a bit strange and he really needs to work on that now because he’s falling down.”
Rosberg’s assessment was followed by an even sharper verdict from 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who claimed the Australian’s form had dipped dramatically since being one of the paddock’s major talking points last year.
“Well we saw the trend last year. Halfway through the season he was the talk of the paddock, like it’s great they signed him because he showed it in Formula 3, Formula 2 – amazing,” Villeneuve said on Sky Sports.
“And then he collapsed, and his form went down, and he hasn’t recovered. It’s really odd.
“And nobody’s talking about him anymore. And that’s in the space of what? – like six months. Even less.
“It’s very odd. But like we often say, you’re only as good as your last race. That’s what’s tough with sports.
“Unless you’re Lewis and you’ve won so many championships and so on. Then, okay, you get there’s something you can lean on.
“But otherwise, two, three bad races, and okay, move on.”
Despite the criticism, Piastri’s comparison with Norris in 2026 remains close across the opening phase of the season.
The Australian still leads Norris 4-3 in both qualifying and race results, trails his McLaren teammate by only five points in the drivers’ championship and has matched Norris with two podiums.
However, Barcelona proved a difficult afternoon for Piastri, who was unable to convert his early pressure on Verstappen into a pass and later lost out to Hamilton as Ferrari’s strategy and race pace came alive.
Piastri acknowledged McLaren had work to do after Ferrari’s upgraded package helped Hamilton claim his first victory in red, with the Briton leading home George Russell by 19.4 seconds.
“I think yes. They’ve been very, very close to us, or us and Ferrari have been very close for the first part of the year,” Piastri said when asked if Ferrari had made a significant step.
“Obviously the last couple of weekends, they were probably a bit of a step ahead.
“But this weekend with all their new parts, clearly they’re working well.
“I think also in a race like today where the grip is so low, the tyres are so fragile. I think it probably plays to the strengths of their car as well.
“I think they’ve got a lot of downforce. Probably the most downforce out of everybody. But also a lot of drag.
“But when you need to protect the tyres, I think that helps you.
“So clearly some work for us to do, clearly some work for me to do, because it was not an easy race.”
McLaren are 121 points behind leaders Mercedes in the constructors’ championship and 49 points behind second-placed Ferrari.
Superb Hamilton takes first Ferrari win in Barcelona as Antonelli retires late
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