‘The answer is no’: Piastri won’t hand Norris the crown
Ian Chadband |
Oscar Piastri has rejected McLaren discussions about him helping teammate and overwhelming F1 championship favourite Lando Norris secure the title, adamant that he can still earn an unlikely drivers’ crown himself.
The Australian admitted before the penultimate Grand Prix of the season in Qatar that he still felt he had a “decent shot” of lifting the championship even though he’s a distant 24 points behind Norris and only level in second-place with surging champion Max Verstappen.
Yet long-time title frontrunner Piastri, who’s been on a wretched run of six podium-free races, revealed on Thursday when asked if McLaren had talked about him playing the team game and assisting Norris: “We’ve had a very brief discussion on it and the answer is ‘no’.
“I’m still equal on points with Max and I’ve got a decent shot of still winning it if things go my way, so, yeah, that’s how we’ll play it.”
Piastri is now a real long shot following last weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix when the two McLarens were disqualified for excessive plank wear and Verstappen triumphed — but he’s still not given up hope.
“I think there’s still a chance and it’s played out that way a couple of times before, so I know it’s not impossible,” said the Melburnian, who’s seeking to become the first Australian champion since Alan Jones in 1980.
“Obviously, I also know that it’s a bit of an outside shot.
“Even if I have a perfect final two weekends, I can’t just rely on that. I need other things to go my way and I’m very aware of that.
“So I think for me I’m just going to try and have the best weekends I can, which I try and do every weekend, and see what happens to everyone else basically.”
A maximum of 33 points will be up for grabs this weekend — a sprint shoot-out on Saturday where the winner gets eight points and Sunday’s main race worth 25 to the victor — so there’s even the possibility Norris could be crowned champion if he extends his lead to 26 going into the Au Dhabi finale.
But Piastri is remaining upbeat after his setbacks over the past month-and-a-half, determined to shoot for maximum points, with victory in the sprint — the Lusail race where he first triumphed in F1 in 2023 — then an eighth GP win of the year.
It’s a circuit he enjoys and thrives on. “Yeah, confident I would say,” he said. “I’ve done well in the past here. In Vegas, just qualifying the end of Q3 didn’t go how I wanted but then the race, when I had clean air to be able to use my pace, was pretty good.”
If the McLarens hadn’t been disqualified there, Piastri would have been 30 points behind Norris, and not still within a race-win’s striking distance of 24, but the DQs also brought Verstappen alongside him in the championship table.
“Ultimately, it’s never a good thing,” Piastri said. “Having the result we had, yes, it prevents me from losing those six points to Lando, but it also brings Max much closer into the fight. Overall, it’s still a net negative.”
With agencies
AAP
