After a disappointing finish at the Dutch Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri is now trailing his McLaren teammate by 55 points.
Lando Norris started another celebration in the McLaren garage with a Dutch Grand Prix victory, his second straight race win this season. But the other side of the garage might not be too pleased by the festivities.
Oscar Piastri could only muster a sixth-place finish, trailing his teammate by over 32 seconds at Circuit Zandvoort. It was one of the unfortunate busts that weekend, but we're only saying that because the Australian driver has much more to give.
However, Piastri himself admitted that he still doesn't know why he's lacking in pace compared to Norris. In Zandvoort, Norris topped qualifying with a lap time of 1:11.163, while Piastri had to settle for fourth.
That has been the story of this intra-team rivalry this season. Through 12 races, Norris is leading Piastri, 8-4, in qualifying sessions for the main races.
And of course, the reigning World Champion now has two race wins to go with it. Piastri did have two podium finishes in Japan and Miami, but he's still chasing a much-needed victory this year.
How Piastri's race unraveled at Zandvoort
After Max Verstappen's early crash in Lap 1 of the Dutch GP, Piastri nailed the race's restart. He overtook Mercedes' George Russell for third place, and looked like he had the pace to achieve his first podium since Miami.
However, a slow pit stop of 5.4 seconds, which is forever in the Formula One world, undid Piastri's excellent start. He dropped from third to fourth after the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton zoomed past him.
From there, Piastri just couldn't find the pace to make overtakes and had to settle for the P6 finish.
Stella says that it's purely "technical" for Piastri
Some might think that there's a psychological reason for Piastri's underperformance, but the team isn't buying that. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella pointed to the lost time from the slow pit stop, plus the low grip from Piastri's hard tyres.
So, in Stella's perspective, technical issues hindered his driver's progress at Zandvoort. And we're inclined to believe this.
After all, Piastri showed last season that he could string together the perfect race in consecutive weekends. At one point, he led the 2025 championship by 34 points after winning the Dutch Grand Prix.
If McLaren consistently brings the upgrades during this second half of the season, it's only a matter of time before Piastri gets into his groove.
