Perez 'opens up some opportunities' for McLaren - Piastri

Oscar Piastri believes the imbalance in the Red Bull driver line-up can be further exploited to McLaren's advantage.

The 23-year-old admits Sergio Perez's poor run of form is "always a good thing to have" as it means he and team-mate Lando Norris can fight against Max Verstappen two-to-one at the sharp end of the field.

Perez had endured a torrid patch of late, and has scored just 15 points in the previous six rounds. In that time, Piastri has scored 83. 

Norris has added 88 to his tally, and Verstappen has taken 119. 

The Australian driver now trails Perez by only six points, despite Red Bull - and Perez - enjoying a strong start to the year. 

Whilst McLaren still trails the Milton Keynes squad by 87 points in the constructors' championship, the Mexican is under increasing pressure to improve his performances - otherwise, his team is at risk of falling behind McLaren come the end of the season.

"It certainly helps our constructors' championship bid,” Piastri replied to media including RacingNews365 when asked how much of an advantage it has been with Perez not being a factor in recent rounds. 

“It has just been Max [fighting the McLarens] really.

"Whenever you have two cars up the front versus one it opens up some opportunities and it's always good for point scoring - it's always a good thing to have."