‘I should be higher up’ – Goethe reflects on tough start to the 2026 season

Oliver Goethe has recently been looking back on his start to the season, one where he feels his results have not been a true reflection of his pace.

The MP Motorsport driver got off to a strong start in Melbourne, starting eighth and finishing fourth in the Feature Race.

Those 12 points are the only ones scored by Goethe this season, but he feels they do not full tell the story of how he and the team have performed.

Reflecting on the year so far, Goethe said: “It's not been great results-wise, but I'm quite happy with the pace and qualifying so far. The potential is always there for more and we're already quite quick, and quite on the pace.

“So from a potential and pace standpoint, I'm quite happy. It's a very strong car and I'm very confident in myself as well with the pace. Unfortunately, I haven't fully executed it in the races.

“I had a DNF in Miami in the wet conditions. That was such a shame because I was running in the points. I think I was fifth at the time.

“I should definitely be higher up, so I'm a bit disappointed with how the start of the season has gone in that sense. But I'm happy with the team, the car and with the potential. So I definitely think it's looking good for the future rounds. I'm really confident in that.”

Looking back at the flyaway rounds in Melbourne and Miami especially, Goethe highlighted the difference in how those Feature Races finished to show the fine margins in his season.

“It's been little errors that have been very costly,” he said. “Like in Miami and also Melbourne Race 1. In the Feature Race in Melbourne, I feel like I did a really good race. I executed it well.

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“There's still a long way to go. I'm looking forward to the next rounds because I think we can do something really good.”

Goethe however sees the positives compared to his 2025 campaign. Last season, he acknowledged that he struggled with qualifying pace early on but was strong in his race performance.

Since late last year, the German driver has regularly been in or near the top 10 in qualifying, leaving race execution on Saturdays and Sundays as his main focus.

“It's a bit strange,” he continued. “In the first half of last season, the race pace was strong and the quali pace was what I was struggling with. But throughout the year, towards the end of the year especially, I've been consistent and quick in qualifying.

“Also at the start of this year, I think since Spa last year, I've been in the top 10 in almost every qualifying. I'm definitely happy with the consistency in qualifying now. It's just about executing the races.”

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Despite the difficult first six rounds, Goethe’s confidence remains, especially with their being a lot of time left in the season.

“I know I have what it takes to fight up there,” he added. "I should be up there. But it's ultimately been down to a few mistakes and a couple things out of my control that have cost me a lot of points so far.

“But like I said before, there's still a long way to go. I need to start executing better now.”