Oscar Piastri hints at strange hurdle with McLaren car as Lando Norris snatches championship lead in Mexico

Oscar Piastri had an unusually challenging race weekend in Mexico, while teammate Lando Norris eased his way to a dominant win with a 30-second gap over Charles Leclerc in P2. After the race, Piastri shared that he hasn't changed his driving style throughout the season, but the McLaren MCL39 seems to need a different approach in recent races.

The Australian driver was the more consistent McLaren driver in the first half of the season. He took the championship lead in Round 5 of the season and held onto it until before Round 20, the Mexico Grand Prix. However, since shortly after the summer break, his results have dwindled, while Norris has improved.

The Mexico GP was Oscar Piastri's second consecutive race weekend where he failed to impress in qualifying, securing a P7 starting place. On the opening lap of the race, he lost a few positions before coming back to eventually secure a P5 finish.

Contrarily, Lando Norris secured pole position with a magical lap in qualifying, over two-and-a-half tenths quicker than Leclerc in P2. He took a lights-to-flag victory in the race and became the new championship leader. After the race, Piastri was asked if he'd lost any confidence in his driving ability, to which he replied (via Sky Sports):

"No, I mean, I think... I've just had to drive very differently the last couple of weekends, or I've not driven differently when I should have. I think that's been a little bit kind of strange to get my head around, because I have been driving exactly the same as I have all year. Just that these last couple of weekends, the car or the tires or something has required quite a different way of driving. And I've just not really gone to that."

Oscar Piastri now trails his teammate by one point in the F1 drivers' championship. Max Verstappen, who finished on the podium in P3 at the Mexico GP, inched closer to the top, reducing the gap from 40 points to the old leader (Piastri) to 36 points to the new leader (Norris).

McLaren boss Andrea Stella shares a possible reason for Oscar Piastri's newfound struggles against Lando Norris

Oscar Piastri, Andrea Stella, and Lando Norris at the F1 Italian Grand Prix - Source: Getty

After contrasting performances of his drivers in Mexico, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella shared a plausible reason for the recent drop in Oscar Piastri's performance compared to Lando Norris. He explained how a change in track conditions has contributed to the flipping of fortunes.

While many fans on social media theorized that McLaren is trying to favor Norris in the championship by sabotaging Piastri's car, Stella offered a straightforward explanation for the performance gap.

"The fastest car is a car that needs to be driven in a certain way, especially when you have conditions like here, and to some extent in Austin, with hot Tarmac, sliding tyres," he said. "And the way in which you generate laptime is a way that comes relatively naturally for Lando, and less naturally for Oscar." "Lando is the driver of going on low grip, end of the stint when the tyres are quite worn, the grip is low - it's where we see Lando go green sector, green sector, green sector. Oscar, instead, is more of a driver of high grip. That's where he can exploit this incredible talent."

Oscar Piastri realized after the Mexico GP that he needed to add "more tools to the toolbox" going forward regarding his driving style, rather than reinvent himself.

Edited by Yash Kotak