Marko suggests Piastri feeling the title heat

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko says Oscar Piastri may be starting to buckle under championship pressure, even as Max Verstappen and Red Bull endure their own difficult weekend in Mexico.

Despite fresh upgrades to the RB21, Verstappen qualified only fifth, while Piastri managed eighth before moving up to seventh on the grid following Carlos Sainz’s penalty. Still, it’s not a total loss for Red Bull.

With Lando Norris the faster McLaren for now but still trailing his teammate in points, Verstappen can still close in on Piastri even without a win.

"Of course, we still need McLaren’s help," Marko told Kleine Zeitung. "I think Piastri is apparently not handling the pressure so well after all. At least, that’s how it seemed recently, even though I don’t know him well enough to say for sure."

Marko admitted expectations were low for Mexico. "If everything goes perfectly, a podium might be possible," he said. "We want to gain points on Piastri, but it looks like we’re going to lose points to Norris. Then it’ll be even closer, the tension continues."

Verstappen, meanwhile, was scathing about the car’s handling. "We were bad everywhere here," he told Viaplay. "Sector two was the worst. You just have to look at my onboard, it was bizarre. Bizarrely bad. No balance, no grip, and I expect it to be even worse in the race tomorrow."

Marko agreed Norris could be out of reach. "The way Norris looked in the long runs, he’ll pull away," the 82-year-old said. "I think Norris is invincible here, but anything can happen."

Piastri’s slump, however, continues to baffle McLaren and the paddock. His once-comfortable 104-point advantage over Verstappen has shrunk to just 40 since Red Bull’s mid-season revival.

"The last two weekends have been different from the others," Piastri told Sky Italia. "I don’t have the pace. Everything seems normal and the work feels decent, but I just don’t have the time. It’s a situation I don’t like.

"The main problem is getting back into rhythm, right now, I’m not thinking about the championship."

He denied the struggles were psychological. "Nothing feels that different," he said. "I feel like I’m driving the same way I did when things were going better. I’m trying to understand it, because the numbers just don’t add up."

Team principal Andrea Stella backed his driver, saying the issue isn’t about nerves. "I’m sure everyone fighting for the title is under pressure," Stella said.

"Oscar’s a very calm guy. I don’t think he’s overdoing it. It’s more about getting the best out of the car when it’s sliding. There are no mistakes in his laps, it’s about finding those last milliseconds in every corner."