Karun Chandhok is “worried” about Oscar Piastri at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, after the McLaren ace struggle during both practice sessions on Friday in a key area.

Piastri was the only McLaren driver to take part in FP1 and FP2 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, after Leonardo Fornaroli stood in for Lando Norris in the first session to fulfil part of the team’s rookie quota. And yet, Norris offered Chandhok more promise than Piastri did.

Norris ended the second hour of practice at the Mexico City GP in P2, with a fastest lap time of a 1:17.930. The reigning F1 champion was also only 0.103s off the best pace, after Ferrari star Charles Leclerc topped FP2 in Mexico City with a 1:17.827, while Piastri only sealed P10.

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Oscar Piastri’s frequent lock-ups in FP2 at the Mexico City GP ‘worried’ Karun Chandhok

Piastri struggled to produce a quick lap time during FP2, with the Australian’s best effort just a 1:18.469. The 25-year-old’s time also left him behind both Mercedes drivers, both Red Bull drivers, both Racing Bulls drivers and Pierre Gasly of Alpine in the FP2 timesheets this Friday.

But more alarming than Piastri’s lack of single-lap pace in FP2 at the Mexico City GP was the frequency at which he locked the brakes on his McLaren MCL40. The Melbourne native had a number of moments, especially into Turn 1, that raised Chandhok’s alarm during practice.

Chandhok said on Sky Sports F1 (30/10, 22:49): “I’m a bit worried about Piastri. I feel like he’s been really struggling on the brakes throughout this day. [In] both sessions, he’s not looked like he’s in a happy place with confidence in the brakes. Lando’s jumped in that car, had a few issues of his own early on, but at least he’s been able to string a lap together.”

Piastri and Norris both had early lock-ups into Turn 1 in FP2 at the Mexico City GP, but it did not set the theme of the hour for the latter as he soon found the groove despite sitting out FP1. The former, on the other hand, continued to struggle and never delivered a quick time.

McLaren looked set to see Piastri improve his pace with the soft C5 Pirelli tyres later in FP2, having recorded new personal best split times in the first and second sectors. But Piastri did not see the lap through, as he almost spun in the final corner after losing the rear of his car.

It was far from the start to the weekend that Piastri would have wanted after his woes at the 2025 Mexico City GP, where Norris reclaimed the lead in the drivers’ standings after winning by 30.324s. Piastri finished 42.065s behind his teammate in P5, after he struggled with how the lack of grip from the asphalt caused the rear of his car to slide in F1’s ground-effect era.

The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez has resurfaced large parts of the track this year, but even the 2026 F1 regulations have not been enough to help Piastri find a feeling to thrive.

McLaren’s MCL40 is very tricky to drive, but Norris showed what was possible in the car in FP2 and Piastri will have headed home for the night with a lot of concerns in his thoughts.