Mark Hughes on the reasons for Oscar Piastri's difficulties

      A year ago, it seemed that Oscar Piastri was on his way to a championship title, as he was leading the individual standings before the Italian round of that season, ahead of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris by 34 points. However, subsequent events unfolded in such a way that last year's Dutch Grand Prix became the last race he managed to win.

      Now Piastri is in a completely different position, currently sitting in 7th place, while Norris has achieved two consecutive victories and leads the Australian by 55 points. Although Lando is currently in 4th place in the standings, he is driving with noticeably more confidence, and his progress is quite evident.

      It must be acknowledged that this year Oscar has often been unlucky, primarily due to technical issues, but his deficit can be explained by more than just that, believes Mark Hughes, a well-known British journalist currently collaborating with The Race.

      Mark Hughes: "I see that he finds it harder to drive the cars of this generation, especially in situations where grip is low. By the way, there were some signs of this towards the end of last season – in those races that took place on tracks where grip was somewhat worse, especially in Mexico.

      These cars generate less downforce, the tires have also decreased in size this year, and the pressure levels in them have increased. But Piastri seems to still be trying to drive in his characteristic manner, i.e., entering corners late and turning the steering wheel at a larger angle – the same is happening with George Russell. However, the Mercedes driver, in my opinion, has progressed somewhat further in understanding this and is trying to change that approach.

      I would say that Norris has a much more flexible driving style, and this is evident in how he works behind the wheel. He needs the front of the car to confidently enter the corner; however, unlike Oscar, he does not require the front tires to immediately provide maximum reliable grip on the track.

      Sometimes situations arise where understeer begins to manifest, and then the driver has to turn the steering wheel at such a large angle that when the front tires finally grip the track properly, there is a sudden loss of grip at the rear tires, and the car tends to go into a slide. You lose time both entering and exiting the corner.

      Then you start analyzing the chassis settings, trying to smooth it out somehow, but in doing so, the car's behavior moves even further from the ideal, and the problem only worsens.

      We have seen the high level at which Oscar can perform, and in this regard, nothing has changed. The question is only about finding the optimal approach to driving again and ensuring that the car settings suit him."