Former F1 world champion Damon Hill has described Oscar Piastri’s recent drop in form as “perplexing.” The championship leader has appeared significantly slower than his McLaren teammate Lando Norris in the last few races and qualified in seventh place at the Mexican Grand Prix on Saturday.
Norris secured pole position, extracting over two-tenths of a second advantage. Meanwhile, the Australian driver finished the session in P8 but will start Sunday’s race from seventh on the grid, benefiting from Carlos Sainz’s five-place grid penalty.
Piastri currently holds a slim 14-point lead over Norris and risks losing the championship lead in Mexico City. “For most of the season there has been next to nothing between Lando and Oscar. Now there is most definitely a yawning gap. It’s perplexing,” Hill wrote.
Starting the Mexican GP on the fourth row alongside Isack Hadjar of the Racing Bulls, Piastri will be hoping to make up some places during the race. McLaren showed strong race pace in simulations during practice, providing some optimism. However, overtaking will be challenging with the likes of Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Max Verstappen, and Kimi Antonelli ahead of him on the grid.
### Oscar Piastri Reflects on a “Tough” Qualifying Session at the Mexican GP
After qualifying, Oscar Piastri expressed frustration over his performance, calling the session “tough.” Despite his car feeling “normal,” he admitted he struggled to find the lap time he needed throughout the weekend.
Speaking to the media, Piastri candidly shared his thoughts: “Yeah, it was tough. It felt like some of my laps, when it counted, were not bad, but just not the lap time that I am expecting obviously.”
He added, “The thing that has been missing is the lap time. Everything has been—been, the car is never going to feel amazing around here with the high altitude, but everything has felt pretty normal. The lap time has just not been there.”
Looking ahead to the race, Piastri said he plans to focus on getting a strong start with hopes of making some progress in the opening moments. Turn 1 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez provides a key overtaking opportunity, as the run to the first corner is the longest on the current calendar.
Fans will be watching closely to see if Piastri can bounce back and close the gap to Norris as the championship battle intensifies.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/f1/news-damon-hill-questions-oscar-piastri-s-sudden-drop-form-compared-lando-norris-mclaren