McLaren driver Oscar Piastri had a difficult qualifying at the F1 Mexico City GP. The championship leader struggled to make Q3, while teammate Lando Norris appeared rapid across the weekend. While Norris qualified on pole position, Piastri will start the race from P7 following Carlos Sainz’s grid penalty. He discussed his difficult Saturday while speaking to print media after his qualifying session at the 2025 F1 Mexico City GP.
Piastri: “The lack of lap time is a bit of a mystery”
In Austin, Piastri collided with Norris at the beginning of the sprint race, causing both drivers to DNF. While the cars were fixed in time for qualifying, Piastri appeared noticeably slower than Norris across the remainder of the weekend.
During the F1 Mexico City GP, Piastri appeared noticeably slower than Norris across all sessions. The championship leader qualified six tenths slower than his teammate, marking one of the largest qualifying gaps of the season for McLaren.
When asked if there may be a problem with his car following his collision at the F1 United States GP, Piastri responded, “I mean, difficult to know. Everything feels normal. But, you know, the gap was big in that session. It’s been big all weekend.
“There’s been some things where I feel like I can tidy it up and make some easy progress, but not all of it. And I think in qualifying, 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.“
Piastri continued, highlighting how his struggles appear similar to those of Austin.
“I think what’s been a bit surprising here has just been that the gap has been the same pretty much every session. I feel like I’ve done some decent laps through the weekend, but everything seems to be about four or five tenths off. So that’s obviously not a great sign. But some of the things that were difficult in Austin are also really difficult here.”
Piastri “frustrated” by lack of pace during F1 Mexico City GP qualifying
The Australian driver appeared perplexed by his lack of pace during qualifying. It is quite worrying that Piastri is unsure where the pace has escaped him during the F1 Mexico City GP.
When asked about where his head is following qualifying, Piastri responded, “Ultimately, just a bit frustrated with how the session’s gone. There’s a lot of things I could worry about. But ultimately, being that far off when you feel like you’ve done a reasonable job is a difficult place to be. And so that’s my biggest concern at the moment.”
Piastri emphasised the fact that his driving style has not changed since the beginning of the season. However, the championship leader has now gone three races without standing on the podium.
“From Austin, there were some things that were clear. But even those things that were clear were a bit unusual, some of the differences. And again, this weekend, it’s been a bit different. 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. But I’m sure we’ll find out.”
Piastri expecting to be losing time “a little bit everywhere”
Unlike Norris, Piastri appeared to visibly struggle with the car throughout practice and qualifying at the F1 Mexico City GP. The Australian driver admitted that he expected to be losing time, despite not making major mistakes.
“I think I was in a pretty good spot. I haven’t obviously seen the data, but I’m expecting it to be losing a little bit everywhere. There wasn’t any big moments or corners where I felt I did something massively wrong. That’s been a bit of the story of the weekend.”
Noticeably, Piastri appeared to struggle when attacking the track’s kerbs compared to his teammate. The Australian driver admitted, “It’s just not been particularly consistent. But it is a tough track with kerb riding and things like that, which I think as a team is maybe not our — I think we’re reasonable with it, but maybe not our strongest point.
“But clearly one of the cars is as quick, so we need to try and work out why I’m not.”
Damage limitation for Piastri ahead of F1 Mexico City GP
Piastri currently leads the World Drivers’ Championship by 14 points ahead of Norris. If the teammates finish how they start, with Norris in P1 and Piastri in P7, Norris would gain 19 points on Piastri. Subsequently, the British driver, currently on 332 points, would reclaim the championship lead by 5 points, leading for the first time since the F1 Saudi Arabian GP.
When asked about his hopes for tomorrow’s race, Piastri responded, “I’ll try my best. It obviously is the longest run of the year, so I’ll try and make up some spots there. I think if I can unlock the pace in the car, we can have some fun. We’ve just got to try and unlock it.”
