Jenson Button has used his own experience of competing for the F1 world championship to explain Oscar Piastri’s recent struggles.
Piastri finished fifth at the Circuit of the Americas, well behind title rivals Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
The Australian lacked pace all weekend and his championship advantage was reduced to just 14 points with five rounds remaining.
Button eventually won the title in 2009, beating Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barrichello.
Button, who won six of the first seven races, was unable to win again that year.
Jenson Button
By his own admission, Button is struggling with the pressure of competing for the F1 title and can empathize with Piastri’s feelings.
“Yes, it’s a very difficult situation that he’s in. The car is not performing as well as he expected and it was the same at the beginning of the year,” Button said on Sky Sports.
“I was very strong, I was unbeatable. I’m a little behind on the car right now, and personally I’m thinking about the World Championship.
“So in a particular race, you’re thinking about not losing points, not making mistakes, and sometimes mistakes happen.
“Finally, when I was fighting for the world championship, I was the first person to make too many mistakes, put too much pressure on myself and not react well to it.
“But I hope that Oscar has learned from the mistakes of others. I have Mark Webber to look after him, get him through the difficult times, and try to be positive in this scenario.”
“Confidence” with Norris
Button noticed the British driver’s “confidence” was growing as Norris cut his lead over Piastri to 14 points.
Button added: “I think so too. He has looked very positive in the last few races.
“What happened in Singapore was obviously not good. You don’t want to touch your teammate in a race scenario.
“He seemed confident in himself and got three-tenths at Oscar from the start and that continued all weekend.
“If he can come out on top here it will give him a lot of confidence going into the rest of the season, but it will be even more difficult for Oscar.
“The confidence is on Rand’s side and the negativity is on Oscar’s side because you guys are going in completely different directions. I never expected that to happen to Oscar!”
“But it happens. We’re all human. This is a sport. Mentally, this sport is very tough.”