Oscar Piastri has admitted that he\u2019s working to change his driving style as he battles teammate Lando Norris for the championship.<\/p>\n
Piastri now trails Norris by a single point after a dominant performance by the Brit in the Mexico City Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
Oscar Piastri admits to driving style change to overcome \u2018strange\u2019 pace drop<\/p>\n
Piastri\u2019s performance was less convincing than his teammate\u2019s in Mexico, as he raced to fifth after qualifying only eighth.<\/p>\n
His last podium came in Italy, at the start of September, and his most recent win was at the Dutch GP as F1 resumed after its mid-season break.<\/p>\n
Following that Zandvoort race, Piastri held a 34-point advantage at the top of the standings.<\/p>\n
Piastri\u2019s drop in form has given rise for concern as Max Verstappen begins to pose an increased threat for the championship, too.<\/p>\n
And concerningly, there is no clear reason for his woes.<\/p>\n
A post-race investigation following the United States Grand Prix identified some issues with his car, though nothing major and certainly no silver bullet.<\/p>\n
In Mexico, things got to the point where Piastri was left experimenting in the car in an attempt to get on top of his machine once more.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing is trying to learn the things I wanted to learn,\u201d Piastri told Sky Sports of his Mexican GP.<\/p>\n
\u201c[In qualifying] it became obvious after the session that there was a few things that I needed to change pretty majorly in how I was driving.<\/p>\n
\u201c[The race] was about first trying to limit the damage, but also try and learn some things about that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf, I\u2019ve made some progress with that, then I\u2019ll be happy. But obviously, when your teammate wins the race, finishing fifth\u2026 nothing that extravagant.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been suggested that Piastri has struggled to get on top of the car at lower grip venues.<\/p>\n
In Circuit of The Americas, the logic went that since the tyres were going to overheat regardless of a driver trying to manage them, the better alternative was simply to drive through it and live with the car moving more than usual.<\/p>\n
Mexico was another low grip venue, as Las Vegas will be too.<\/p>\n
But with development having stopped at McLaren some time ago, why Piastri\u2019s struggles have manifested now remain a mystery.<\/p>\n
More on Oscar Piastri<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udc49 What\u2019s happened to Oscar Piastri?<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 \u2018Big issue\u2019 found for Oscar Piastri as Drivers\u2019 Championship lead lost<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve just had to drive very differently the last couple of weekends \u2013 or, because I\u2019ve not driven differently when I should have.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s been a little bit kind of strange to get my head around, because I\u2019ve been driving exactly the same as I have all year.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just that these last couple of weekends, the car or the tyres or something has required a different way of driving, and I\u2019ve just not really gone to that.<\/p>\n \u201cSo [I] tried a few things, trying to change things up a bit.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce we analyse if it\u2019s effective or not, that\u2019ll hopefully help see some progress.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, the car\u2019s not changed in a while now, so it\u2019s nothing to do with the car,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven how the pace is differentiated the last couple of races, clearly Lando\u2019s found it a bit easier to just dial into that.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I think it\u2019s important to remember for the other 19 races, the way I\u2019ve been driving has been working pretty well.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s more about adding some tools to the toolbox rather than reinventing myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1, and much more!<\/p>\n