Oscar Piastri has provided more insight into his poor run of form in recent weeks, after finishing in a lowly fifth place at the Mexican Grand Prix.
The Australian has been outscored by his teammate and Championship rival Lando Norris for four race weekends in succession, and hasn't appeared on the podium for the same number of Grands Prix.
His subpar performance unfortunately didn't come to an end in Mexico City, as he struggled to understand the handling characteristics of his MCL39 from the get-go and ultimately qualified in eighth position on Saturday.
The 24-year-old did fair better during the Grand Prix itself, gaining two places from his starting grid slot, but was far behind race winner Norris by the end of the 71-lap event.
Piastri Blames His Car and Other Cars
For the first time since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Piastri no longer leads the Drivers' Championship. He is now a single point behind Norris in the Standings, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen just 35 points behind the Australian.
It is clear that the McLaren driver is struggling to extract the maximum out of himself and the machinery beneath him. He reflected on this while speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race.
He said: "I felt like the whole race I was right behind someone and struggling with the dirty air. That was pretty difficult.
"For me the biggest thing is trying to learn the things I wanted to learn today. Yesterday it became obvious after the session that there was a few things I needed to change pretty majorly in how I was driving.
"Today was about trying to limit the damage, but also trying to learn some things about that. If I’ve made some progress with that I’ll be happy," Piastri commented.
A Sudden Change in Driving Characteristics
Piastri continued by stating that he has had to change his driving style significantly in recent weeks, impacting his ability to push 100% on single-lap and race pace.
He added: "Obviously when your team-mate wins the race, finishing fifth is nothing that extravagant.
"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 strange to get my head around because I’ve been driving exactly the same as I have all year.
"It’s just the last couple of weekends the car or the tyres or something required quite a different way of driving. I’ve just not really gone to that."
Piastri hopes that with further analysis into the issues he is having, he will be able to get back to winning ways with a Championship at stake.
He stated: "I’ve tried to change it up a bit today and once we analyse if it’s effective or not that will hopefully help see some progress.
"The car’s obviously not changed for a while so it’s nothing to do with the car. Given how the pace has differentiated, clearly Lando has found it easier to dial into that and I haven’t.
"It’s important to remember the other 19 races and the way I’ve been driving has been working pretty well. It’s about adding some tools to the toolbox, rather than reinventing myself," concluded the McLaren driver.
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