​Motorsport photoFormer Formula 1 driver Jolyon Palmer has suggested that McLaren’s Oscar Piastri may need a winter reset after a difficult 2026 campaign.Piastri heads into this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix following an eighth-place finish at the Spanish Grand Prix, while his team-mate Lando Norris claimed pole position and built a decent lead before an ill-timed virtual safety car derailed his race.After fighting for the championship in 2025, Piastri has struggled during 2026. He currently sits seventh in the drivers’ standings with 120 points and Norris is fourth with 186 points.Speaking on theF1 Nation podcast, Palmer assessed the Australian driver’s current form.”Number one, Oscar could be grateful that McLaren is not in the championship fight in a way because otherwise we’d be looking at him in exactly the same way as we’re looking at George. He’s capitulating this season,” the former Renault driver explained.”Oscar had one half of a season last year where he looked like a champion, and he drove like a champion, and he was amazing. Bearing in mind, he’s an F3 champion and an F2 champion.”It felt, this time last year, like the second coming of a great Aussie champion coming through. Could he do what Mark Webber didn’t? And it felt like it was the right thing.Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLarenLando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren”But when you actually look through Oscar’s career in Formula 1, he’s had three and a half years now. Half a year was amazing. For three years, he was basically second driver to Lando. He’s capable of great drives, but the consistency in comparison to Lando is not there, apart from that half-year last year, which was great timing because it set him up for a title tilt.”He added: “Is this where Oscar is at? He’s not as comfortable sliding the car around as Lando. Last year’s cars suited him a little bit more until we went to these low-grip tracks, as Andrea Stella was saying, and we saw his limitations a little bit more in Austin and Mexico and co.”He’s just a driver who will be hoping for a run of form, but also maybe for next winter and a bit of a reset right now because every weekend just feels like it’s a real struggle for him.”To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.