Unbroadcast Oscar Piastri radio shows how much he’s feeling the pressure at Mexican Grand Prix

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Oscar Piastri continued to stumble in qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix. He was only eighth-fastest in one of his worst Saturday showings of the year.

Piastri was ninth in Azerbaijan after crashing in qualifying, and while he bounced back with third in Singapore, he was only sixth in Austin last time out. A fourth-row start here continues a concerning single-lap trend.

The championship leader appeared to fundamentally lack speed throughout qualifying. He was six-tenths slower than pole-sitting teammate Lando Norris.

Piastri led the standings by 34 points after his last win at Zandvoort. As it stands, he would relinquish top spot to Norris when the chequered flag falls on Sunday.

Oscar Piastri falls silent as McLaren engineer confirms Mexican Grand Prix position

Piastri had to use two sets of tyres in Q1 out of caution to make sure he went through. He then narrowly avoided elimination in the second segment.

The 24-year-old has made a habit of finding pace at the decisive moments, but he couldn’t extract it here. The only consolation is that P8 will become P7 due to a five-place grid penalty for Williams driver Carlos Sainz ahead.

After McLaren engineer Tom Stallard informed Piastri of his grid slot at the end of Q3, there was no response from the cockpit. The silence felt telling from a driver who may be struggling with the pressure of his first title fight.

“We’ll box this lap,” Stallard said in a message that didn’t make the world feed. “That is P8, I’m afraid. Because Sainz does have a penalty, it’ll become P7. So box now.”

Jacques Villeneuve says Piastri looks ‘very tight’ in the cockpit. He was widely lauded for his composure in the first half of the season but may now need to regain control of his emotions if he’s to stay in charge of the championship race.

Tom Stallard admitted that Oscar Piastri mentality was ‘dangerous’

Lewis Hamilton says McLaren’s drivers must be ‘cut-throat’ to defeat Max Verstappen, but perhaps Piastri is now losing the ruthless edge that characterised his first 15 races.

Verstappen only qualified fifth on Saturday, so the top three could compress further in Mexico City. Juan Pablo Montoya believes the F1 title race will go to the wire in Abu Dhabi.

Stallard said before last weekend’s race in Austin that the mood on Piastri’s side of the garage is ‘dangerous’. There’s an acknowledgement that this could be his only chance, even if there’s confidence in McLaren’s long-term prospects.