Oscar Piastri‘s ex-performance coach has lifted the lid on McLaren‘s fight for the championship, admitting that he doesn’t “buy into conspiracy theories” about team sabotage.
Kim Keedle was Piastri’s performance trainer from 2020 in junior categories to the end of the 2024 season in the main game.
He said that the recent battle between teammates is simply how Formula 1 goes and Lando Norris‘ fight back to contend for the drivers’ championship was to be expected.
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“There are always swings and roundabouts in F1,” Keedle said on SEN.
“They are both strong drivers and Norris fighting back was expected.
Oscar Piastri of McLaren prepares to drive in practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico. Anadolu via Getty Images
“We have come off a few races that are not Oscar’s strengths, but he will be fine. It’s not easy to win a championship. I’m confident he will get it done.
“I know how McLaren operates and they have handled this well internally. I understand how it might look suspicious externally.”
Drivers are constantly having to change and manoeuvre themselves around a car that is developing rapidly throughout the season.
Keedle confessed that this can have a positive or negative impact on drivers and their results as they get to grips with the new feel.
“The difficult thing with F1 [is that] throughout the season there is so much development going on,” he added.
“At the start [of the season] McLaren was the fastest car and Red Bull have caught up.
“Mercedes and Ferrari come in and have their strong races too.
Charles Leclerc holds up his trophy after the Formula 1 F1 Grand Prix of United States. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
“Throw in some maybe lost confidence and poor races for Oscar, I don’t buy into the conspiracy theories, I think it’s all above board and fair.”
Piastri is well known for being reserved in the public eye of the sport and his ex-coach hinted that driving is the Australian’s forte, not all the public facing duties outside of the car.
“Mentally he will be coping well [with the championship fight],” he said.
“He works hard on dealing with that. He understands this is a big part of performance.
“It’s tough for him at the moment but all athletes have pressure, and you have to be able to deal with it if you want to succeed.
“Managing demands around the drivers, it’s the hardest thing Oscar found when he first came in, all the extra things besides the driving.
A disappointed Oscar Piastri speaks in the media pen during the F1 Grand Prix of United States. Getty
“They’re all things that can take away from you as a driver, you have to learn to deal with these things.”
Before Piastri, Keedle’s clientele included Haas’ Romain Grosjean and the Melburnian lifted the lid on how drivers deal mentally with the near-misses and heavy crashes in the sport.
Racing Bull‘s Liam Lawson narrowly avoided a fatal crash with two marshals on the track at the Mexico Grand Prix.
“After a big crash that a driver has witnessed, or as they get older, fear starts to creep into the mind,” he said.
“But as a general rule…they don’t get scared.”
Piastri and his teammate Norris will return to the track for the Brazilian Grand Prix, with one point between them in the drivers’ championship standings.