McLaren Faces Historic Crisis As Reliability Failures Force Both Norris And Piastri Into Unprecedented Double DNS In Shanghai

McLaren suffers an unprecedented double DNS at the Chinese GP due to separate reliability issues. Norris and Piastri both fail to start from the third row.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 15, 2026, 5:40 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from PlanetF1

Technical Meltdown Forces Withdrawal Of Entire McLaren Entry

The Chinese Grand Prix was defined by a technical disaster for McLaren as both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were unable to take their places on the starting grid. Approximately one hour before the race, engineers identified a complex electronic issue on Norris's car, requiring the removal of the floor for an emergency inspection. While the team initially expressed optimism regarding a fix, the car remained stationary in the garage as the pit lane closed. The crisis deepened when a separate, last-minute problem was detected on Piastri’s car just as the formation lap loomed, forcing the Australian to abandon his fifth-place starting position.

Historic Low For Team Founded By Bruce McLaren

The failure to field a single car due to reliability marks a dark milestone in the team's storied history. While McLaren has previously missed starts with single-car entries in the 1960s or failed to qualify both cars during the 1983 season, never before have two healthy, qualified cars been withdrawn on race day due to technical malfunctions. This unprecedented failure has raised serious questions about the quality control of the MCL40 platform, especially as the team had qualified strongly on the third row only to see their competitive efforts erased by hardware instability.

Piastri Records Statistical Rarity With Back To Back Non Starts

The incident has left Oscar Piastri in the unfortunate company of his team’s founder, becoming one of the few drivers in Formula One history to record a "Did Not Start" (DNS) in consecutive rounds. Following a crash on the reconnaissance lap at his home race in Melbourne, the Australian was looking for redemption in Shanghai. Instead, his second consecutive failure to start matches a record set by Bruce McLaren in 1969. This streak of misfortune has severely hampered Piastri’s championship standing, leaving him without a single race mile completed over two high-stakes Asian-Pacific rounds.