Oscar Piastri has admitted that there are elements of his driving that have "needed to change pretty majorly" as he works to arrest his woeful run of form.
In just five rounds, the McLaren driver has seen Lando Norris eradicate his once 34-point advantage in the F1 drivers' championship fight.
Now, following the Mexico City Grand Prix, the Australian trails his team-mate by a point, with only four rounds left to go.
Max Verstappen has also reeled the 24-year-old in, and is now just 35 points behind as Piastri's formbook continues to suffer.
Norris won at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, and Verstappen finished third to round out the podium places. Piastri could only finish in fifth, for the second weekend in a row.
It has become increasingly evident to the nine-time grand prix winner that he must overhaul part of his driving style to continue extracting the potential from the MCL39.
Reflecting on his race, he told Sky Sports F1: "There was a lot of fight out there... the whole race I was right behind someone and struggling with the dirty air. That was pretty difficult.
"For me, the biggest thing is trying to learn the things I wanted to learn today.
"Yesterday, it became obvious after the session that there was a few things I needed to change pretty majorly in how I was driving.
"Today was about trying to limit the damage, but also trying to learn some things about that. If I’ve made some progress with that, I’ll be happy.
"Obviously, when your team-mate wins the race, finishing fifth is nothing that extravagant."
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Piastri: Not a case of 'reinventing myself'
Piastri has not won since the Dutch Grand Prix and was quick to highlight how "strange" it has been to grapple with his wayward performance, having been comfortably in control of the championship fight just a few short weeks ago.
"I’ve just had to drive very differently the last couple of weekends — or I’ve not driven differently when I should have," the McLaren driver explained.
"I think that’s been a little bit strange to get my head around because I’ve been driving exactly the same as I have all year.
"It’s just the last couple of weekends, the car or the tyres or something required quite a different way of driving. I’ve just not really gone to that.
"I’ve tried to change it up a bit today, and once we analyse if it’s effective or not, that will hopefully help see some progress."
Making the situation even more difficult for Piastri to remedy is the fact that McLaren has not introduced any upgrades to the MCL39 for some time, so alterations to his package cannot be the reason for the sudden loss of form.
However, he is also defiant in that he need not make radical changes to his approach or driving style, and that it is a case of merely adding to his arsenal.
"The car’s obviously not changed for a while, so it’s nothing to do with the car," he pointed out. "Given how the pace has differentiated, clearly Lando has found it easier to dial into that, and I haven’t.
"It’s important to remember the other 19 races, and the way I’ve been driving has been working pretty well. It’s about adding some tools to the toolbox, rather than reinventing myself."
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