Piastri was fourth in the opening session but slipped to 12th in FP2, finishing around eight-tenths off the pace set by Max Verstappen.
Team-mate Lando Norris — who sat out FP1 with Pato O’Ward taking the seat for McLaren’s one-off outing — was fourth in the second session, two tenths adrift of the Dutchman.
“It was okay. I think the lap on softs and low fuel was pretty average, so I’m not surprised with the lap time,” Piastri said.
“I think we tried a lot of things, we’ll go through and have a look at what worked, what didn’t, but overall I felt reasonable.
“We’ll see what we can tune up for tomorrow and try and make things just a bit more consistent is the biggest thing.”
The 24-year-old continues to lead the championship standings by 14 points, though his margin over Verstappen and Norris has been shrinking in recent rounds.
Piastri’s run in Mexico comes after a scrappy weekend in Austin, where he failed to finish the Sprint and managed only fifth in the grand prix.
Reflecting on the recent challenges, Piastri said McLaren had identified several small issues from Austin that together affected performance.
“There were a few things we identified from Austin,” he explained.
“Obviously, it was a pretty messy weekend as well. Plenty of things that we found, all small things, but when you put them all together, they add up.
“I think we’ve got a good handle on last week.”
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Despite a tough Friday, Piastri remains confident McLaren can still challenge Red Bull.
“I think so, yeah,” he said.
“It’s going to be tight like always, but I think we’ve got a good car underneath us.”
While Piastri played down his subdued times, 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve was more critical, describing the Australian’s session as part of a wider trend.
“We didn’t hear a lot of confidence there,” Villeneuve told Sky Sports after Piastri spoke to the media.
“It’s messy. His driving has been messy since Baku, and you can see it.
“Normally, that means a tenth, two-tenths, a little mistake here and there, not setting the car right. It gets into your head. And seeing Max again in front, that’s going to eat him all evening.”
He warned about the psychological toll of a tightening title fight.
“If you’re looking backward as you’re running, things will go wrong, and then that’s what’s happening.”
Norris, meanwhile, underlined the team’s worry about single-lap performance.
“I think we’re in a reasonable place, for sure. I feel like I got up to speed very quickly, actually, I was quite surprised,” he said.
“My first lap was pretty good, and the second lap was a good step. So, yes, I felt like I found the limit quickly, but that is just holding us back a bit.”
He was frank on the car’s behaviour.
“The balance of the car is just a bit all over the place, the same as the last few weeks, just single lap stuff,” he admitted.
“We’re struggling at the moment, so yes, we’re working hard. We’re trying everything we can, so we’ll see what we can do and see what we can find.”
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