Oscar Piastri admits McLaren struggles in Mexico City: a turning point in the F1 title fight?. Oscar Piastri admits his struggles with McLaren after qualifying only seventh at the Mexican GP.

It was a difficult qualifying session for Oscar Piastri at the 2025 Mexican Grand Prix. The current Formula 1 drivers’ championship leader could manage only seventh place, far behind the lap time of his teammate Lando Norris, who claimed a stunning pole position. The result confirms the challenging period the Australian is going through, as he continues to struggle to rediscover the ideal feeling with his McLaren following the summer races.

Since the Zandvoort round, Piastri has struggled to show the same consistency that brought him to the top of the championship standings. His seventh place in qualifying at Mexico City is yet another sign of this decline, in a Saturday session where he appeared to struggle with balance and tire management during the decisive phase of Q3.

Piastri: “It’s a situation I don’t like”

Speaking to Sky immediately after the session, Oscar Piastri didn’t hide his disappointment with the result, admitting that the difficulties had started as early as free practice. “Since last weekend, yes, I’ve had some problems. Even here I thought I did everything the right way, but the pace just isn’t there. It’s a situation I don’t like.”

The Australian acknowledged that he wasn’t able to fully exploit the car’s potential, emphasizing how important it will now be to work closely with the team to reverse this negative trend. “The championship? It is what it is! Right now, I just need to focus on finding the pace again. If I manage that, we’ll see what I can do next. But that’s the main focus.”

For McLaren, qualifying was a story of two extremes: while Lando Norris delivered a perfect lap to take pole position, Oscar Piastri couldn’t put together a clean attempt in the decisive moments of Q3. The Woking-based team now faces two very different scenarios heading into Sunday’s race.

Engineers will carefully analyze the data to understand the cause of Oscar Piastri’s performance drop. The Australian will have to rely on race strategy and consistent pace to minimize the damage and keep his championship hopes alive. Despite the setback, a strong recovery drive could still play a decisive role in the 2025 Formula 1 title battle.