Piastri needs to adapt quicker if he wants to be champion

OSCAR Piastri's near-flawless Formula 1 season hit its first real snag in Mexico City.

- JEHRAN NAIDOO

The Australian, who had led the championship for much of the year, left the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez with a fifth-place finish and the uneasy sense that he's suddenly on the back foot.

For a driver whose rise has been built on composure and precision, the race in Mexico exposed the one area he still needs to master - adaptability. Piastri's struggles were not the result of a slower car or team error.

In fact, he was quick to clarify that nothing had changed mechanically.

"The car's obviously not changed for a while now, so it is nothing to do with the car," he admitted. "I've just had to drive very differently the last couple of weekends ... I've been driving exactly the same as I have all year. It's just that the car or the tyres or something have required quite a different way of driving."

That "different way" was dictated by Mexico's unique challenges. Sitting more than 2,200 metres above sea level, the thin air robs cars of downforce and grip, turning even the best-balanced chassis into a slippery handful.