Oscar Piastri can't drive "through pure instinct" when grip drops, and it's costing him two-tenths a lap. McLaren boss Andrea Stella says the Australian has to mentally process each input instead of reacting naturally when the car slides around. That cognitive load is the difference between a podium and sixth place.
Zandvoort exposed the problem. Piastri ran third after a sharp move on Russell, but his pace died on the second set of hard tyres. Stella blamed both the adaptation issue and a slow pit stop that dropped Piastri behind Russell. The team couldn't switch on those hards, leaving them in a low-grip regime that highlighted Piastri's weakness.
The 2026 regs made it worse. Two DNS results to start the year cost Piastri race data while rivals learned deployment and tyre management. With three teams within a tenth, any inefficiency drops you from third to sixth. Piastri has two podiums this season. Norris has three wins. The gap keeps growing.
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