Piastri says issues with 'one' McLaren is a 'mystery' after poor quali

After qualifying in eighth place, Oscar Piastri questioned why only "one McLaren is quick" as his teammate and title rival, Lando Norris, scored pole position at the Mexican Grand Prix.

The championship leader is set to start in seventh place on Sunday, having gained one position from his qualifying slot due to Carlos Sainz receiving a five-place grid penalty.

Piastri voiced his frustrations with the MCL39, claiming that the lack of pace is a "mystery" as he tries to improve on a recent string of lacklustre results.

Photo: Race Pictures

After qualifying, Piastri told the press: "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 have been some things where I feel like I can tidy it up and make some easy progress, but not all of it.

"I think in qualifying, I feel like I did a reasonable job, and the car felt reasonable as well. The lack of lap time is a bit of a mystery.

"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 4 or 5 tenths off, so that's obviously not a great sign, but some of the things that were difficult in Austin are also proving difficult here.

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The championship leader has failed to win a race since returning from the summer break, gifting a handful of crucial points to an eager Max Verstappen.

Since Zandvoort, McLaren have been on the back foot of Verstappen, with the Dutchman winning three of the last four races.

To make matters worse, Piastri has only scored one podium since Zandvoort and had a disastrous weekend in Baku, which allowed both Norris and Verstappen to close the points gap.

The Aussie now holds a 40-point lead to Verstappen who sits in third place in the Drivers' Standings, and just a 14-point lead to his teammate.

"It's been okay," Piastri continued. "I would say it's just not been particularly consistent, but you know it is a tough track with curb riding and things like that, which I think as a team is maybe not our strongest point.

"Clearly, the car is working, or one of the cars is quick, so we need to try and work out why I'm not.

"I'll try my best. It's obviously the longest run of the year, so I'll try and make up some spots there, but I think if I can unlock the pace in the car, we can have some fun."

Starting in seventh, the potential world champion will need to make up a lot of points in the final five races of the season if he is to clinch his first championship with McLaren.

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