Piastri says being out of title fight has upside

Oscar Piastri says he misses the pressure of fighting for the Formula 1 world championship, but admits the lack of stress this year has its benefits. The McLaren driver led the standings for much of last year and battled team-mate Lando Norris for the title, eventually finishing third behind Norris and Max Verstappen.

This season has been very different for Piastri, who sits seventh in the drivers' standings, 94 points behind Norris with three races remaining. He said he wants to be in a championship fight every year if possible, but there is not quite the same stress this year. "That stress that you have in a championship fight is the feeling you want because it means you're fighting for something that is what your goal is," he said.

McLaren has struggled to match the pace it showed in the last two seasons under the new regulations, although it has made a decent jump in performance in recent races, with Norris winning in Brazil. Piastri said the cars are smaller and have less downforce, and the team had to focus first on the power unit before identifying that the car was difficult to drive.