Giedo van der Garde admits 262-point F1 driver was ‘struggling’ before the Sao Paulo Grand Prix

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The wet conditions at Sao Paulo provided a challenge for F1 drivers as they grappled with a new track surface on tyres they rarely run during a season.

Max Verstappen put in a masterclass performance after starting from P17 on the grid and climbing up to second, before a red flag midway through enabled him and both Alpine drivers to make use of a tyre change without losing time in a pit stop to win the race.

Other drivers that usually excel in the wet conditions struggled, with Lewis Hamilton lacking raw speed in qualifying and subsequently only managing to finish in P10 during the race. Peter Windsor put it down to a lack of confidence for Hamilton, who was heard complaining about the resurfaced Interlagos.

Fernando Alonso appeared to struggle with the same issues in the Aston Martin, as he finished in P14 having crashed earlier in the day during qualifying.

Former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde believes one driver who has been ‘struggling’ at recent races put in a good performance in Brazil when speaking on the F1 Nation podcast.

Oscar Piastri performance ‘picked up’ in Sao Paulo Grand Prix

Since he convincingly held off Charles Leclerc to win the Azerbaijan GP, it has been a mixed second half of a season for Oscar Piastri.

The Australian suffered difficult results in Austin and Mexico, but his form picked up Brazil despite the conditions. Although he picked up a five-second time penalty for a collision with Liam Lawson, the McLaren driver picked up a decent points haul given his experience in the conditions.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

Van der Garde was impressed by his performance and thinks the consistency between the McLaren drivers has been one of their strongest assets this year.

“They are been very, very good to last few races. I think Oscar has been picked up the last race as well. Before that, he was struggling a little bit,” said Van der Garde.

“But I think if you ask me, McLaren will win the title. But it’s gonna be tight because if you see, Ferrari is also strong. They have two strong drivers as well. They’re always there.”

McLaren could win first Constructors’ title since 1998

McLaren is effectively on course to winning their first Constructors’ Championship since they last clinched it in 1998 with Mika Haikkinen and David Coulthard.

To achieve this, they must avoid being outscored by Ferrari and Red Bull by a margin of 36 points. Lando Norris has scored 331 of their points total, with Piastri 262 points this season.

Norris is also mathematically still in the Drivers’ Championship battle, but after being outscored by Verstappen by 15 points in Brazil, it is looking increasingly unlikely for the Briton.

Verstappen only needs to outscore him in Las Vegas to clinch the title, and while McLaren is expected to be strong at the track Ferrari is also lurking behind them.

It will be a defining weekend at the street circuit, where it is likely to make a significant sway in both title battles for the teams.