Piastri questions cause of Austin woes: track or car specific issues?

Oscar Piastri tried to make sense of his subdued weekend in Austin, which ended with a DNF in the sprint and a fifth-place finish in Sunday’s race.

Speaking to GPblog after the race, the Australian tried to explain whether his struggles were track-specific or car-specific: "Difficult to know. I think probably track specific. I've not felt particularly comfortable the whole weekend. So definitely some things to try and understand."

Although fifth place was far from ideal — especially with his two title rivals finishing first and second — Piastri said he was reasonably satisfied with his performance in the race, given the pace he had to work with.

"I feel like with the pace I had this weekend, I did the most that I could. Qualifying was clean at least, and the race was clean, and I made up a spot."

Oscar Piastri in the US paddock - Photo: Race Pictures

Heading into the Austin weekend, Piastri held a 22-point lead over his teammate and a 63-point cushion over Verstappen. Now, those gaps have shrunk to just 14 and 40 respectively.

While his position at the top of the standings remains solid, the pressure is clearly mounting — especially with momentum now firmly on Verstappen’s side, as the Red Bull driver has nothing to lose.

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Stella diagnoses Piastri pace struggles at United States GP

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella also reflected on why Piastri struggled so much to match the pace of Verstappen — and especially teammate Norris — admitting that his issues were “certainly one of the most important points that we need to review.”

The Italian pointed out that the Australian found it difficult to extract the car’s full potential, questioning some of the setup choices made ahead of the race.

Stella also highlighted a few areas where the championship leader still has room for improvement.

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