McLaren offer Oscar Piastri 'investment' boost after recent struggles

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has backed Oscar Piastri to bounce back from his difficult run of form at recent rounds.

Piastri has been outscored by team-mate Lando Norris at each of the last five races - including last weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix, which saw him lose the title lead.

The Australian has voiced uncertainty over the root of his struggles with the car, but suggested after the Mexico race that he had uncovered some positive learnings.

Stella confirmed that fact and predicted the findings from Mexico will serve Piastri well in the final four rounds of the year.

“When it comes to Oscar, even if he lost some points to Verstappen, I think Oscar has got a lot of learning from this weekend,” Stella told media including RacingNews365.

"And that's sort of an investment that you make to make sure that you are competitive in every condition in the final part of the season. 

“So overall, we definitely, team and drivers, we come out of this weekend encouraged and optimistic for the final part of the season."

Ahead of Mexico, a big question mark surrounded Max Verstappen and whether the Dutchman could continue to close on the title lead after he won three out of the four grands prix leading up to last Sunday.

His strong form saw him become an outside bet for the championship fight, but the Mexico race was won by Lando Norris, who took over the title lead.

Stella asserted McLaren's title confidence was handed a significant boost after ending its win drought.

"The confidence in terms of the championship is increased,” he said.

"It's increased because we have proven that we have a car that can win races and in some conditions can dominate races. 

“This is the most important factor to put Lando and Oscar in condition to pursue the Drivers' Championship. I don't think it's about mathematics.

"I think it's about competitiveness. And it was important to confirm this competitiveness.”