Oscar Piastri said he still has “the belief” that he can still win this year’s Formula 1 title despite a continued dip in form compared to team-mate Lando Norris.
Piastri will line up in fourth place for Sunday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix after another qualifying session which saw him fail to give an answer to Norris, who starts from pole position.
In what has been a shocking turnaround, Piastri has gone from being title leader – with a reasonably hefty points buffer – to now trailing his McLaren partner by nine points.
Piastri has particularly fallen away from Norris over the last two outings in Austin and Mexico, leaving many to theorise whether he is feeling the pressure, or if McLaren is covertly favouring Norris.
But speaking after qualifying, Piastri indicated that he is still feeling better in the MCL39 this weekend compared to the previous rounds, and whilst admitting he isn’t finding performance as natural to obtain, affirmed his belief he can still go out and win.
“I think in Austin and Mexico there was clearly some things to learn and just some things that I wasn’t very naturally comfortable with that I had to adapt to,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“I think this weekend, certainly yesterday, things felt much more normal.
“From the first lap of practice I felt comfortable. The lap time was coming easily. I think today was a little bit more tricky in terms of the conditions and just trying to get everything out of it.
“But I don’t think there’s been the same issues this weekend. I’ve still got the belief that I can go out and win races and win the championship. But obviously things are not coming as easy as I’d like at the moment.”
Piastri admits ‘understanding’ of with MCL39 the key to rediscovering F1 form
This weekend in Brazil has seen Piastri get closer to Norris than he had in Mexico, but still not close enough, qualifying third for the Sprint Race, with Norris on pole.
And then an unfortunate skid on stagnant water in the Sprint led to his premature retirement on Lap 6, with Norris going on to take victory.
Qualifying for the full Grand Prix saw Piastri manage an underwhelming fourth, over three tenths short of Norris, and behind Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
When asked if he feels maybe one good result is what it will take for him to rediscover his sparkling form of the first two-thirds of the year, Piastri indicated that it will be more a case of educating himself on why exactly he is unable to muster more from the car at the present time.
“I think ultimately I want to be able to learn what’s been lacking in different sessions. It’s not always been the same thing,” he said. “I think once I know that and I sort that out, then that’s going to give me much more satisfaction than if I hang on for a good result or something like that.
“For me, just trying to understand as much as I can, learn as much as I can, is going to be helpful for not just this year but for the rest of my career too.
“Just trying to take any lesson I can. There’s quite a few of them at the moment.”
READ MORE – Why Oscar Piastri found latest F1 qualifying slump in Brazil ‘quite weird’
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