Gasly and Verstappen puzzled by Piastri slump

Two Formula 1 drivers say Oscar Piastri’s sudden loss of form is "strange" - even as the Australian believes he is now pulling himself out of the slump that derailed his championship charge.

Pierre Gasly told AFP he cannot make sense of the performance swing.

"It’s inexplicable," said the Alpine driver.

"You can be dissatisfied with your team, but you can’t forget how to drive from one weekend to the next. He was less than a tenth behind his teammate all year, and suddenly he’s six tenths behind. I find that strange."

Title contender Max Verstappen agreed.

"Honestly, I have no explanation for that. It seems very strange to me," he said. "I didn’t expect it to be like that, but it’s not really my problem."

Verstappen admitted he was surprised by how calmly Piastri handled it. "I probably would have been a bit more upset," he added. "When you’re so far ahead and suddenly so far behind.

"I don’t work like that. Everyone does their own thing, but I’m a little different."

For his part, Piastri says he believes the worst is now behind him.

"The races in Austin and Mexico were a bit different - something fundamental just wasn’t working," he said. "In the others, it was a combination of things.

"I’m keeping the same approach - extract the maximum, every race. Winning the title will be very difficult now, but the mindset stays the same."

Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko also commented on Piastri’s situation in Osterreich newspaper, dismissing conspiracy theories about McLaren favouring Lando Norris.

"That’s just a rumour. It can never be proven," he said. "Piastri suddenly makes mistakes and Norris doesn’t anymore - that’s all."

He denied suggestions that Piastri received a modified chassis after Baku.

"That’s not true. Piastri just needs more time to get up to speed in the race."

Meanwhile, Verstappen says he will not be shattered if he misses the title.

"At some point you come back to reality," he said, referring to his recent comeback charge that began to falter in Brazil. "We’ve been on the podium in the last two races - much more consistent than mid-2024 to mid-2025. It’s still positive."

McLaren, despite halting 2025 development long ago, arrived in Las Vegas with new winglets designed to help fix last year’s poor form - and Lando Norris was fastest in FP2.