Piastri admits 'driving differently' as championship doubts creep in

Oscar Piastri has admitted that his driving style has changed as the F1 championship race has heated up towards the end of the season.

For the first time since Saudi Arabia, Lando Norris claimed the lead in the drivers’ standings and sits a point ahead of his McLaren team-mate after a dominant display at the Mexican Grand Prix.

24-year-old Piastri was unable to gain any momentum across the race weekend in Mexico, qualifying a startling six tenths of a second behind his team-mate Norris on Saturday.

Piastri meanwhile, hasn’t achieved a race win since the Dutch GP in August, collecting 47 points to Norris’ 82 in the past five races.

A costly DNF for Piastri in Baku, coupled with his crash into Norris during the US GP sprint, has cost the Aussie crucial points and has allowed Max Verstappen to recover into striking distance for the 2025 title.

Why has Piastri suffered a downturn in form?

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the Mexican GP, Piastri was asked by Rachel Brookes if he had lost any confidence in his driving ability over the course of the past five races.

"I’ve just had to drive very differently the last couple of weekends - or I’ve not driven differently when I should have," Piastri explained.

"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.

"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."

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