What\u2019s happened to Oscar Piastri? From leading Lando Norris by 34 points after the Dutch Grand Prix, he now finds himself one behind after Mexico.<\/p>\n
Has Piastri crumbled in the heat of a title battle? Or is there something more at play here? McLaren believes it knows the answer \u2013 and the solution.<\/p>\n
Has Oscar Piastri thrown the F1 2025 title away?<\/p>\n
A version of this article originally appeared in PlanetF1.com\u2019s conclusions from the 2025 Mexican Grand Prix<\/a><\/p>\n When an athlete struggles as badly as Oscar Piastri has done over recent weeks, and at such a crucial point in the season, the temptation is to put it all down to psychology.<\/p>\n And with good reason too.<\/p>\n The overall talent level in sport is so uniformly high these days that it is very often the mental and emotional factors that decide outcomes.<\/p>\n Everyone is so annoyingly good and professional now that what were once considered the little things have ended up becoming decisive. Hence the invention of the very modern term \u2018marginal gains\u2019.<\/p>\n It is not necessarily about being the best or the most gifted, but about still being able to access all your skill and talent \u2013 or, at least, a greater proportion of it than your opponent can \u2013 even when under the most enormous pressure and scrutiny.<\/p>\n That, now more than ever, is how races and matches, championships and tournaments, are won in sport.\u00a0It\u2019s happening in every field and in every discipline.<\/p>\n Oscar Piastri vs Lando Norris: McLaren head-to-head scores for F1 2025<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates<\/a><\/p>\n So it is easy to look at Piastri\u2019s results over the last couple of months and conclude that this is a classic case of a driver collapsing under pressure.<\/p>\n And undoubtedly some moments \u2013 the panic on the streets of Baku<\/a>, the way he faded without trace after the first lap<\/a> in Singapore, his\u00a0careless switchback at the start of the sprint<\/a> in Austin \u2013 fall under that banner.<\/p>\n But not all.<\/p>\n His significant pace deficit to Lando Norris over the last two weekends, culminating in a 0.588s gap in Mexico qualifying and a pair of measly fifth-place finishes?<\/p>\n That points to something more complex going on beneath the surface.<\/p>\n Something McLaren, at least, feels it understands.<\/p>\n Piastri arrived in Mexico confident that his struggles in Austin<\/a> were related entirely to the unusual demands of the Circuit of the Americas, specifically the way the tyres are guaranteed to overheat no matter how they are nursed by the driver.<\/p>\n Only to meet with the same root problem \u2013 a fundamental lack of grip, everyone struggling to a greater or lesser degree \u2013 here too.<\/p>\n The hard truth for Oscar? Norris is simply better equipped to deal with the challenges posed by low-grip conditions.<\/p>\n McLaren has hinted at it a couple of times over the last two races, team principal Andrea Stella telling media including PlanetF1.com on Sunday in Austin that Piastri must \u201cchallenge the car and lean on the oversteer, understeer, locking\u201d when grip is low and adding that \u201cthis is an area of his driving that he has an opportunity to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n His comments after qualifying last Saturday in Mexico<\/a> were along a similar theme.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fastest car is also a car that needs to be driven in a certain way,\u201d Stella said. \u201cEspecially when you have conditions like here and to some extent in Austin with hot tarmac, sliding tyres.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way in which you generate lap time is a way that, I would say, comes relatively naturally for Lando and less naturally for Oscar.<\/p>\n \u201cLando is the driver of going on low grip, end of the stint when the tyres are quite worn, used, the grip is low.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s where we see Lando [post] green sector, green sector, green sector.<\/p>\n \u201cOscar, instead, is more of a driver of high grip and that\u2019s where he can exploit this incredible talent.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Oscar Piastri and McLaren from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Oscar Piastri news<\/a><\/p>\n