Would Oscar play kingmaker? Piastri ducks big question
Ian Chadband |
Oscar Piastri has sidestepped the question of whether he’d be prepared to play Formula One kingmaker by helping teammate and overwhelming championship favourite Lando Norris race to the world drivers’ crown.
Norris, who leads by 12 points from champion Max Verstappen and 16 from McLaren teammate Piastri going into the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with all three still in the hunt, said on Thursday he felt he would help the Australian if the boot was on the other foot.
But quizzed on his stance, Piastri neatly ducked the burning topic on pre-race media day, shrugging: “It’s not something we’ve discussed — I don’t really have an answer until I know what’s expected of me.”
Others, though, had plenty to say, with Mercedes driver George Russell adamant it would be “unfair” to ask Piastri to sacrifice his admittedly slim title chances, even if it meant neither McLaren driver ended up being champion.
His advice to Piastri? Unplug his car radio.
“I don’t think it’s acceptable or reasonable to ask a driver who’s also in a shot of a championship in the very last race to move over for your teammate,” Russell said.
“They both need to be given a shot and if they lose out because of it, you just need to say the other guy did a better job and that’s racing.”
Norris, for his part, said he wouldn’t ask Piastri for any help in a potential scenario where, say, he was fourth in the race with Verstappen leading and Piastri third — a situation which would result in the Red Bull champ retaining his crown unless the McLaren drivers switched positions.
Quizzed over whether he would ask Piastri to sacrifice a place to help him, Norris, sounding a mite uncomfortable as his two title rivals sat alongside, said: “I don’t think I would ask it because …I don’t know … it’s up to Oscar if he would allow it. I don’t think it’s necessarily down to me.
“It’s the same, if it’s the other way around. Would I be willing to or not? Personally, I think I would just, because I feel like I’m always like that and that’s just how I am.
“I’m not going to ask it, I don’t want to ask it because I don’t think it’s necessarily a fair question,” he added.
“At the same time, if that’s how it ends and Max wins, then, well, that’s it. Congrats to him and look forward to next year. It doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t change my life. He will deserve it over us.”
It seems unthinkable, though, that McLaren wouldn’t ask Piastri to play the perfect team man again — a role he’s played selflessly before in the British outfit — if it looked as if the team might miss out on the drivers’ title after such a dominant year.
Principal Andrea Stella, after all, had said after last Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix, where a strategy bungle ruined both their chances, that “what’s important for us is that we are in condition to beat Verstappen with one of our two drivers.”
He also said then that, though the team’s racing approach would not change, there would be conversations this week – yet both drivers reckoned there had been none so far.
Norris admitted he felt he had most to lose of the three contenders – and Piastri seemed rather more relaxed as he explained how he’s feeling “a lot of confidence” off the back of his superb weekend in Qatar.
“Obviously, I need a fair few things to happen this weekend to come out champion, but I’ll just make sure I’m in the right place at the right time and see what happens,” he smiled.
“Obviously it would be a very cool achievement, but I’m not getting my hopes up too high. We’ll see what happens. If I can achieve it, then I’d be a pretty happy guy.”
AAP
