Piastri targeting Sprint victory but ready to hand win to Norris

Oscar Piastri will be targeting his second sprint victory in F1 on Saturday morning at Interlagos, but if circumstances call for him to hand the win to his McLaren teammate Lando Norris, he’ll comply with the order.

Such a potential scenario would reflect McLaren’s commitment to supporting Norris in his championship bid, as the Briton trails Verstappen by 47 points in the standings.

With a limited number of races left – four Grands Prix and two Sprint events – every point is crucial if Norris hopes to close the gap to his Red Bull rival.

Piastri, who clinched pole position in Friday’s sprint qualifying by a slim margin of 0.029 seconds over Norris, acknowledged that, under certain circumstances, he would yield a victory to assist Norris’s campaign.

“We’ll see what the pace is like tomorrow for both of us,” he said. “I think first and second is the first objective, and then we’ll see what the order is."

"I know Lando is in the running for the drivers' standings, and for the team it doesn't matter which way around we are.”

• Read also: Norris made ‘too many mistakes’ on final sprint qualifying flyer

Since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, McLaren has committed to backing Norris in his bid for the championship, especially given that Piastri, in his rookie season, is focused on supporting the team.

Although McLaren clarified that the Aussie wouldn’t be required to give up Grand Prix wins, Sprint events offer a unique opportunity for strategic support.

With only a one-point difference between Sprint positions in the top eight, Piastri’s concession could mean a significant boost for Norris’s points tally without severely impacting his own season.

"I've said I would when we had these discussions,” Piastri replied when asked directly if he would sacrifice a win to help Norris. “It would be nice to win, but it's a one-point difference and it's not the main race, so we'll see."

Piastri’s ability to secure pole on Friday marks a return to form for the 23-year-old charger after a few challenging qualifying sessions.

"I think it was coming together maybe a bit better than we expected, but I think we felt pretty comfortable after FP1 this morning," he explained.

"The [resurfaced] track was just moving on really quickly, it was like a second and a half quicker by the end. The last lap on softs, they hung on for a second lap, which was nice, and I managed to put it on pole."

This weekend in Brazil also saw McLaren unveil a new rear wing, tailored to suit the unique demands of the track, which has been a clear advantage over rivals who opted not to bring upgrades.

"Yeah, it's nice," Piastri noted. "It's a constant push from the team to try and get the car even quicker, and this wing is a nice new upgrade for us here. We're pretty happy with it."

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter