Karun Chandhok feels McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is in a “tough place” as his biggest issue compared to Lando Norris “magnifies” on every lap of every race so far in 2026.

Piastri was fighting for the F1 title one year ago, but has returned to Mexico City this season cut adrift from the top six drivers in the championship standings. Norris ranks sixth ahead of round 19/23 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on 211 points and Piastri in P7 has 144.

On paper, Piastri has not been comprehensively beaten by Norris this year, as the Briton has only taken a 10-8 lead over the Australian for Grand Prix results and 11-7 lead in their head-to-head in qualifying. Yet the 2026 F1 cars are far more of a challenge for Piastri than Norris.

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Oscar Piastri’s regression in races is leaving him in a ‘tough place’ mentally

McLaren’s MCL40 is a tricky car to drive, which the papaya team are fully aware of but are not likely to change before 2027 when they can then introduce a new chassis and a longer wheelbase. Piastri has struggled to adapt to the demands of the 2026 F1 regulations, too, given that the smaller wings produce less downforce and allow the car to slide more easily.

What worked for Piastri in the ground-effect era no longer applies with the 2026 cars, and Chandhok believes his problems tend to get worse in the races compared to in qualifying.

And it is how a minor deficit in qualifying snowballs in the races that Chandhok feels is now leaving Piastri in a “tough place” mentally, as he cannot get on top of his troubles this term.

Chandhok said on Sky Sports F1 (31/10, 18:17) during FP3 at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Saturday: “That’s a tough place to be as a driver.

“You can look at the data and the team are telling you things, but then you’re not able to execute that on track to deliver the lap time, that’s mentally a tough place to be in, especially when your teammate’s delivering the performances.

“So, nearly two tenths away from Lando’s time. To be honest, one-lap performance has not been Oscar’s problem. His average qualifying is four hundredths off for the whole season to Lando.

“It’s the races where suddenly four hundredths in quali becomes a tenth, a tenth and a half in the race every lap, and then it just magnifies.”

Piastri frequently caught Chandhok’s attention for the wrong reasons during practice at the Mexico City GP this weekend. After his difficult times in FP1 and FP2 this Friday, Chandhok noticed Piastri lacked confidence with McLaren’s brakes, and it made the pundit “worried”.

Melbourne native Piastri’s braking problems were just the latest layer to his misery so far in 2026, having struggled to adapt most of all to how the rear of the McLaren MCL40 tends to slide in the corners. Piastri’s driving style does not suit the demands of this year’s cars, and it is proving to be very difficult for the 25-year-old to get around the issues with the MCL40.

Chandhok’s suggestion that his struggles worsen in the races is not new for Piastri, either. In August following the Dutch Grand Prix back in round 12, Piastri admitted that Norris’ win at Zandvoort exposed his issues with race pace after he finished 32.332s behind down in P6.