Oscar Piastri remains uncertain whether the improvements made during the Mexican Grand Prix were enough to unlock the McLaren car’s maximum potential. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, the Australian driver admitted that his main challenge over the past two race weekends has been extracting optimum performance from his car.
Starting ninth and finishing fifth in Mexico, Piastri showed decent recovery pace but continued to struggle in comparison to teammate Lando Norris, who won the race. The Australian revealed that he had to significantly adapt his driving style throughout the weekend in an attempt to get more out of the car.
His difficulties have persisted since the Austin weekend, where the bumpy surface and medium-to-low downforce setup exposed some of his weaknesses. Piastri explained that while the car clearly has the performance, he has found it challenging to optimize it to his preferences.
He believes progress was made in Mexico but admitted it was difficult to gauge its effectiveness. A deeper analysis of the race data should help him better understand the mixed results.
When asked by Sportskeeda if the car was better in the race compared to qualifying in Mexico, Piastri said:
“Difficult to say. I think maybe a little bit better, but it wasn’t so much the pace of the car, because clearly the car was pretty quick this weekend. It was more just trying to unlock it. I felt like I potentially made some steps in doing that today. But ultimately, when you’re behind so many cars and trying to fight for so long, it’s difficult to measure that a little bit. Hopefully, we’ll get a bit more indication from some of the data.”
### Uncertainty About Upcoming Race Weekends
Piastri also expressed that it is difficult to outline clear expectations for the next few race weekends. While he felt the car showed strong pace in Mexico, he noted that the team still needs to analyze whether the recent changes were responsible for the improvement.
He added that if the adjustments prove effective, it would be a satisfying step forward. However, if not, it would require rethinking their approach and finding new ways to unlock more performance from the car.
One of the key differences, according to Piastri, was his driving style. He admitted that he had to go against his natural style behind the wheel to make the car work better and extract more performance across the weekend.
When asked about his expectations for the next few races, Piastri stated:
“Difficult to know what to expect. I think, you know, clearly the pace in the car has been strong this weekend, just I’ve not really been able to unlock it that much. I think I need to learn if there was some things to learn, if we’ve changed some things today and made progress with that. And yeah, if I have, that’ll leave me relatively happy. If there’s still some things to learn, then it’s back to the drawing board for a bit.”
### Championship Battle Intensifies
Oscar Piastri lost his lead in the championship and now trails teammate Lando Norris by just one point. An untimely Virtual Safety Car cost him the chance to reclaim that lead, as it appeared while he was within DRS range of Ollie Bearman in the closing laps of the Mexican GP.
Had he managed to overtake the Haas driver and finish fourth, Piastri would have retained a one-point advantage in the standings.
Max Verstappen remains third in the title fight, trailing Piastri by 35 points. With 116 points still up for grabs across two sprint weekends and four main races, the stage is set for a tense championship finale.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/f1/oscar-piastri-remains-unsure-made-improvements-mclaren-f1-mexican-gp