Autobayng News Team
Oscar Piastri was at a loss to explain his lack of pace after lagging behind his team mate for a second consecutive race in Mexico.
Lando Norris scored a commanding victory at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, finishing over half a minute ahead of Charles Leclerc.
Piastri came in fifth, 42 seconds behind his team mate, having made one more pit stop. The pair were separated by almost six tenths of a second in qualifying, the biggest margin between them since the same race last year.
The result cost Piastri the championship lead to his team mate by one point. It was the fourth consecutive race in which he has failed to finish on the podium, but he is most concerned by his performance over the last two rounds.
“Definitely I think the last couple of races has been surprising in terms of the pace,” he told the official Formula 1 channel. “I think there’s been some evidence of where the pace is and what to do.
“I’ve [had] to drive the car very differently these last couple of weekends. Which, when it’s been working well for you for the previous 18, is a little bit difficult to kind of wrap your head around.
“But I tried a few things today and I’ll have a look at if that was what we were looking for.”
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Norris revelled in the performance of his car in Mexico, but admitted its performance has been peaky over the season. “The car is just quick,” he said. “It has been the whole season.
“Clearly it’s still difficult to drive at times. But I think when you just find that sweet spot, it can be down the road and make your life a bit easier.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said on Saturday he believes the unusual low-grip nature of the Mexico City circuit produced handling characteristics Piastri struggled with more than Norris.
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