Oscar Piastri's friend from IndyCar sympathizes with his dire championship fate at McLaren

A racer friend of Oscar Piastri from IndyCar has shared a sympathetic message for him amid his F1 slump. The tables have turned fast and emphatically for the McLaren driver, who led the drivers' championship from Round 5 of the season until Round 20.

After the summer break, he saw his form dwindle and consistency drop, while teammate Lando Norris went from strength to strength with six consecutive podiums in the last six races, including two consecutive victories. The American leg of the season didn't treat Oscar Piastri well, which McLaren team principal Andrea Stella attributed to a change in track conditions, which he theorized suited Norris better.

Piastri trails Norris by 24 points with three race weekends left this season. The Australian driver's friend, Caio Collet, who will join the IndyCar grid in 2026 with AJ Foyt Racing, discussed Piastri's plight on the Motorsport Brasil podcast.

"Ah, I think it's really difficult, right? It's trying to explain what happened, what's happening," he said. [23:40 onwards]. "Only he knows the mistakes he made or the things that didn't go the way he wanted during the weekends. But really, it's hard to see him in this situation. I think that around mid-year, everyone, even I, considered him as the champion, like, easy, right? But nothing is easy, right? I think no one knows how difficult it is."

Collet expanded on how only a few people in the world know how difficult it is to fight for an F1 championship in such a "pressure-filled" environment.

"And I think in these last races since Singapore, he hasn't been able to get things right," Collet added. "Some things during the weekend ended up going the wrong way, and I think some mistakes on his part also came up, and all of this kind of turned into a snowball, and now he finds himself in this situation. But it's difficult. I support him and talk to him to try to help as best as I can for him to get through this and provide support off the track so he can try to reset. I think that’s very difficult."

Caio Collet and Oscar Piastri were teammates in the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup Series. The Brazilian driver finished fifth in the championship that year, while his Australian teammate won the title.

Max Verstappen finds Oscar Piastri's sudden drop in performance "bizarre"

Oscar Piastri with Max Verstappen at the F1 Dutch Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Ahead of the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix, reigning and four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen expressed concern for Oscar Piastri. He found the Aussie driver's sudden drop in performance to be "bizarre" and couldn't fathom what had led to such a happening.

When Piastri was at the peak of his drivers' championship lead, Verstappen was 104 points behind him. Now, Lando Norris has flipped the tables, turning his 34-point deficit into a 24-point lead, and Verstappen has reduced the 104-point gap to 25 points.

When asked about Oscar Piastri's plight on media day in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Max Verstappen said:

"I have no explanation for that, to be honest. I find it very bizarre. I didn’t expect it to go like this, although at the end of the day, it’s not really my problem. I don’t know what has happened or what hasn’t happened, so it’s difficult for me to judge. But I would probably have been a bit more annoyed, I think, when you’re that far ahead and suddenly that far behind."

The upcoming Las Vegas GP is expected to be a tough challenge for McLaren, which hasn't fared well on similar street circuits like Baku this year.