McLaren identify Oscar Piastri difference as Lando Norris seizes control of F1 title race

McLaren boss Andrea Stella believes Lando Norris' comparative strength in low grip conditions was a key factor behind his seizing of the F1 championship lead in Mexico.

A weekend of utter domination from Norris ended with him leading the drivers' standings for the first time since the Bahrain GP in April, as the 14-point deficit to team-mate Oscar Piastri was wiped out. 

Piastri finished fifth as his out-of-sorts run continues, meaning Norris heads into the final four races with 116 points on the table, on 357, just one clear of Piastri on 356. Max Verstappen has 321.

Reflecting on the weekend, team principal Stella felt he had seen flashes of such dominance from Norris before - and that this was down to his strength in low grip conditions, such as those found in Mexico. 

"I think when we look at Lando in recent years, we have seen a weekend with this level of dominance at some other venues, like last year we saw it in Zandvoort and in Singapore," Stella told media, including RacingNews365.

"So it is not the first time I felt that Lando exhibits performances at this level, it was very convincing, and he was essentially the fastest in every single session, and was able to capitalise on the performance and strength of the car. 

"In a way, these special, low grip conditions fit perfectly and are a natural way of extracting lap time, which is almost opposite to Oscar's characteristics - and I think it will strengthen Lando's confidence.

"It will be important for the final four races, but I think both Lando and Oscar go into the final four races with reasons to be confident, and the team with more understanding of how to extract performance from the car consistently.

"Because, over the last few races before Mexico, at times, we have left some performance in the garage."