Goethe says he and MP are ‘in a strong position’ heading into the 2026 season

Oliver Goethe says he and MP Motorsport as a pairing are in a “strong position” heading into the 2026 season after a strong end to the last campaign.

The German driver struggled for the most part in 2025, finishing 15th in the Drivers’ Championship with 37 points.

However, Goethe’s form picked up towards the end, as he was in the running for the victory in the Monza Feature Race until the timing of a Safety Car cost him positions.

The 21-year-old also qualified fastest in Lusail, before a three-place grid drop for impeding dropped him down the order, although he scored points in both races at Yas Marina.

Speaking at the Yas Marina post-season test, where Goethe was fastest on Days 1 and 2, he feels he and MP are in a good place heading into 2026.

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“I think even before Qatar and Abu Dhabi, in Monza and Budapest, I was really, really fast,” he said. “I feel like people forget a bit about the Monza weekend, but I was on for a Feature Race win and a Sprint Race podium, just based on pure pace.

“I'm looking forward to the start of next season. I think we're in a strong position.

“Looking back, we were definitely missing some qualifying pace in the first half of the season. Race pace was always there, I was quite unlucky at moments, some mistakes as well. I just didn't really put it together.

“But the progression in qualifying was very clear throughout the season. In the last few rounds, I was really up there, fighting for wins, getting a pole position, fighting for podiums. Overall, I'm really happy with how the end of the season went.”

Asked whether that form gives him confidence that he can fight at the front in 2026, Goethe said: “Yeah, I think, especially the last few rounds, it's clear that the team and I have the pace and we have what it takes to fight at the front.

“The consistency was quite strong in the last few rounds as well. A lot of very unlucky moments, to be completely honest. I feel like if we put it together, we can really make it work.”

Goethe says he learned a lot from his 2025 MP teammate Richard Verschoor, who fought for the title, and finished third in the Standings. This year, he is joined by Gabriele Minì.

The German says he welcomes the challenge of having a competitive teammate, but with his eyes set on achieving his goal of getting to Formula 1, Goethe is focused on fighting at the front.

“I've learned a lot from Richard,” said Goethe. “It was great to have him as a teammate. Now with Gabriele as a teammate, to be honest, my goal is to make Formula 1, and for that I need to have a really strong year.

“Regardless of how well my teammate does, I need to be at the front in the championship to get my chance of driving F1 cars.

“That's the goal for me. Of course, you try to learn as much from your teammate as possible. It's always good to have a fast teammate like Gabriele and like Richard.

“But I'm going for the overall win and top positions.”