Piastri Admits Pace Deficit in Mexico Qualifying 'A Bit of a Mystery'

Oscar Piastri's grip on the 2025 F1 world championship is loosening after another unsettling qualifying performance in Mexico City on Saturday. The McLaren driver, who leads the title race, will start Sunday's Grand Prix from a lowly seventh on the grid after qualifying eighth, being promoted one place thanks to Carlos Sainz's penalty. Yet that minor reprieve will do little to ease the concerns surrounding the Aussie's performance level this weekend.

Why it matters:

• After a strong season, Piastri's sudden and persistent pace deficit against teammate Lando Norris in consecutive weekends raises questions about his championship bid and McLaren's overall car performance. Consistency is key in a title fight, and these struggles could impact the psychological momentum needed to secure the championship.

The Details:

• Significant Gap: Piastri's best effort in Q3 left him 0.588 seconds adrift of pole-sitter and teammate Lando Norris. This substantial difference has left both Piastri and McLaren team principal Andrea Stella perplexed.
• Team Reaction: Andrea Stella described the time loss as "milliseconds in every corner," highlighting the difficulty in pinpointing a single major issue.
• Driver's Frustration: Piastri himself admitted, "The gap was big in that session and it's been big all weekend." He further stated, "I feel like I did a reasonable job and the car felt reasonable as well. So, yeah, the lack of lap time is a bit of a mystery."
• Consecutive Struggles: This marks the second consecutive weekend Piastri has been significantly outpaced by Norris, following a subdued performance in Austin. What was hoped to be track-specific issues now appear to be more persistent.
• Consistent Deficit: Piastri noted that the gap to Norris has been consistently "about four or five tenths off" in every session in Mexico, a worrying sign.
• Narrow Escape: Reaching Q3 required effort; Piastri barely squeezed through the second segment in seventh, just 0.079 seconds ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, indicating a lack of comfortable pace.

Between the lines:

Piastri's confidence in his driving approach remains, but the inability to identify the root cause of the pace deficit is a growing concern. He stated, "I've not changed really how I'm driving since the start of the season and even a few races ago when things were going really well. So it's difficult to pinpoint where the lap time's been lacking this weekend."

What's next:

While Piastri hopes McLaren will "find it," the mystery surrounding his current performance needs to be solved quickly. With only a handful of races left in the title fight, this trend could prove critical. The Mexican Grand Prix will be a crucial test of his temperament and adaptability as he battles to maintain his championship lead amidst a challenging run of form. If the 'mystery' becomes a persistent trend, his championship aspirations could be seriously jeopardized.