McLaren chief on why Oscar Piastri lost out to Lando Norris in F1 Mexico GP qualifying

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella revealed that Oscar Piastri was losing "a few milliseconds" in every corner to his team-mate Lando Norris during the Mexico Grand Prix qualifying.

While Norris secured pole position for the race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Piastri qualified in P8 but will start the race from P7 after Carlos Sainz takes a five-place grid penalty carried over from the United States Grand Prix.

"Well, the lap is actually strong in pretty much every corner," Stella explained to Sky Sports F1 about Norris's pole-securing lap. "Lando, if I'm not wrong, is first in every single sector. The car has behaved well at all corner speeds.

"I think we had a few things that we need to regroup and understand. Coming from the last few races, I think we understand a little bit better how to use the car with the current package. The car is performing well and Lando maximised it.

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"I was just saying that obviously there's a little bit to review on Oscar's side. It's more difficult for him to use the car when the conditions are so sliding in a way like it was also in Austin. So, something that we need to review and make sure that we improve for tomorrow."

He added: "Actually, like I said before for Lando, Oscar in relation to Lando loses a few milliseconds pretty much in every corner. So it's more him getting the right feeling with these conditions and pushing that little bit more in every single corner.

Andrea Stella, McLaren

Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images

"But obviously, it is very difficult to go that little bit more without having an issue. So, something definitely that we can work on and improve for tomorrow. I think the race pace is strong for both drivers. I'm sure Oscar will be able to recover some positions. It's important for McLaren. It's important for his championship. So we look forward to it."

Heading into the Mexico Grand Prix, Piastri leads the drivers' championship standings by 14 points over Norris. The Australian driver will have to make significant gains during the race to retain his position.

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