‘Senior McLaren source’ rules out using one ‘old-fashioned’ tactic to help Oscar Piastri

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Oscar Piastri’s recent loss of form has left both the driver and the team confused. It’s a worrying position to be in with only four races remaining.

Lando Norris took the lead of the world championship by winning the Mexico City Grand Prix last time out as Piastri only finished fifth. The two drivers are separated by just a point, but Norris is looking far more comfortable.

The fortnight break prior to the Sao Paulo GP feels critical for Piastri as McLaren investigate the reasons for his poorest run of the year. A repeat of Mexico would put Norris firmly in control of the title race before the decisive triple-header.

McLaren insist Piastri isn’t feeling the pressure of the title race despite his inexperience in these scenarios. That doesn’t necessarily mean his issues aren’t psychological, though – he lost time to Norris throughout the lap last weekend, which may indicate that he lacks the confidence to fully attack.

McLaren won’t perform chassis swap with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri

According to Motorsport Italy, McLaren are in the process of checking the individual components on Piastri’s car, including the wings and the floor. They don’t think they’ve been compromised, but they want to be absolutely certain.

Externally, there were calls for McLaren to change Piastri’s chassis, or even swap them between the two cars. Racing Bulls used this method for Daniel Ricciardo last year.

• READ MORE: Lando Norris telemetry comparison exposes Oscar Piastri’s ‘incredibly aggressive’ problem

Even if there isn’t an issue with the chassis, this method can sometimes restore a driver’s faith in the car beneath them. However, the world champions have now confirmed to the Italian publication that they won’t take this action.

A ‘senior McLaren source’ called it a ‘somewhat old-fashioned way of doing things’. Mark Webber, Piastri’s manager, says the idea was never put on the agenda for the upcoming race in Brazil.

Oscar Piastri’s engineer reveals whether he’s still completely open with Lando Norris

Had the idea of swapping chassis been raised, Norris might well have objected. Both drivers have prioritised the collective interest this season, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the dynamic shifted in the final month.

Speaking on the F1 Explains podcast, though, Piastri’s McLaren engineer Tom Stallard insisted that neither driver is being secretive with their data. That would go against the team’s philosophy.

Both drivers want to beat the ‘best version’ of one another, so they aren’t using the same underhand tactics as intra-team rivals in years gone by.

“Probably through the history of Formula 1, there are examples where that has been a problem,” said Stallard. “But all of the data has been available to both cars. Across the whole team, we have an incredibly collaborative relationship, and it’s very much, ‘How do we use the data to make the team go faster?’

“Although some of it we’re using to coach the drivers, I’ve not seen any effort from either driver to hide things for their teammate. We use that to push the next level up. As much as they want to beat each other, Oscar wants to beat the best version of Lando.”