Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Football
Netball
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
“KO blow to Piastri’s title:” Expert view on McLaren war
SEN • October 27th, 2025 1:50 pm
The final lap virtual safety car would have been an additional stab to Oscar Piastri’s overall feeling after the Mexico Grand Prix where the Aussie finished fifth and lost his lead in the F1 title race for the first time since April.
He is now just one point behind teammate Lando Norris who drove a faultless race in Mexico to claim his sixth victory of the season.
Catching them up in the hunt to be crowned world champion is Max Verstappen who, having been more than 100 points adrift back in August, is now just 36 behind Norris.
The final lap drama denied Piastri the chance to make an eleventh hour attempt to steal fourth place from rookie Ollie Bearman, a result which would have protected his title race lead.
“Lando Norris has landed not just a jab, not just an uppercut, but almost a knockout blow in the championship race,” Sky Sports commentator David Croft said at the conclusion of the race.
“It feels like Lando Norris is skipping over the waves on a freshly greased up surfboard and Oscar Piastri is just getting bogged down in the shallows.”
Piastri has been on a downward trend in recent weeks having not finished on the podium since Monza on September 7.
Norris meanwhile has been top three in every race since Italy.
So what is going on behind closed doors at McLaren?
In recent weeks there have been public statements on dissatisfaction between the drivers as well as on-track collisions.
Whatever it is, Piastri, insists he does not need to reinvent himself to get his season back on track for the final four races in Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
“I’ve just had to drive very differently in the last couple of weekends or I’ve not driven differently when I should’ve,” he said after the race.
“I think that’s been a little bit strange to get my head around, because we’re driving exactly the same as I have all year.
“It’s just that these last couple of weekends, the car or the tyres or something has required quite a different way of driving. And I’ve just not really gone to that.
“I tried a few things with trying to change things up a bit today, and once we analyse if it was effective or not, that’ll hopefully help see some progress.
“I think potentially given how the pace is differentiated in the last couple of rounds, clearly Lando’s found it a bit easier to just dial into that, and I haven’t.
“So there’s plenty of analysis to try and get further on top of that, but I think it’s important to remember that for the other 19 races the way I’ve been driving has been working pretty well.
“So it’s more about adding some tools to the toolbox rather than reinventing myself.”
