Oscar Piastri 'mental strength' questioned after becoming 'unsettled'

Timo Glock believes Oscar Piastri has been "unsettled" by recent F1 rounds as Lando Norris has slowly clawed back the points deficit in the F1 drivers' championship.

The former F1 driver argued it calls the Australian's "mental strength" into question, having seen his lead over his McLaren team-mate cut from 34 points to 12 since the Dutch Grand Prix.

Whilst neither driver from the recently-crowned constructors' champion has taken victory since the trip to Zandvoort, the British driver has gone 4-0 against Piastri during that period, with Piastri labouring to fifth in the Austin race after crashing out at Turn 1 of the Sprint. 

In Singapore, Norris got his elbows out to get past the 24-year-old. Whilst McLaren has taken a dim view in retrospect — something Glock was outspoken over at the United States Grand Prix — it shows he is ready to take the fight to Piastri.

Speaking on Sky Sports Germany, Glock backed Norris' approach, saying: "In the position Lando Norris is in, as a team-mate, you’ve got to show: 'Mate, I’m here, I’m wide awake.' That’s important."

Addressing Piastri, however, the 43-year-old was less convinced, despite the widely-held view that he is unflappable and mentally tougher than Norris. "The question is what’s happening with Oscar Piastri’s mental strength," he said.

"People always think he never gets a pulse over 100, but you can slowly see – based on what’s happened in recent races – that he’s starting to get a bit unsettled too."

Glock underlined the danger of McLaren's race management strategy, which has been criticised in recent weeks for being over-engineered, suggesting its intervention at the Italian Grand Prix may still be playing on Piastri's mind.

"Fact is: those two are fighting for the title, and each will give it everything. Lando Norris has to," the former Jordan, Toyota, Virgin and Marussia driver said.

"And then there's the issue of whether Oscar Piastri is still thinking about what he did in Monza – giving up that position, giving up those points, just because the team made a mistake in the pit stop."