A Crucial Year for an F1 Simracer: Piastri’s Options in 2026

It could have been a great year for Oscar Piastri. What could have been one of the greatest breakthroughs in F1 history turned into a nightmare in the second part of the season. A great start was suddenly halted after the summer, with mistakes and team decisions. Australians are very sensitive to this matter, to the point that there were even questions in the Senate about McLaren’s behaviour.

Of course, all these McLaren situations bring to mind Alonso’s past with the team: first, the situation with Hamilton, and later a calamitous period at the back of the grid.

Anyway, no one doubts Piastri’s quality as a driver. He is one of the greatest talents, with a very cool head, and usually makes good choices. It is funny that I saw this coming from the other side of the world in 2017, when I interviewed him for this small site. He was winning in karting, and the future was bright.

I first noticed him because he was very fast on iRacing in the open-wheel classes and seemed a very talented youngster. I should have bet on him!

As a sim racer, Oscar has a simulator at home. Very few pictures of his setup have been made public, and what we have is probably already obsolete, but we can infer what a resourceful driver like him might be using now. Let’s guess a bit!

As you can see, we are guessing almost for the top, as an F1 driver always would be. The last information we had was a VRS DFP a few years ago.

This season will be interesting, with a new set of regulations for every manufacturer and driver. The fast adaptation and understanding of the rules and the car could be determinant in finding a new champion this year.

Other F1 driver simulators:

• Lando Norris
• Charles Leclerc
• George Rusell
• Carlos Sainz
• Checo Perez
• Fernando Alonso
• Antonio Giovinazzi
• Max Verstappen

Happy Racing!