Piastri reveals 'brief' McLaren chat on favouring Norris

Oscar Piastri has confirmed that McLaren briefly floated the idea of prioritising Lando Norris in the final stretch of this year’s Formula 1 world championship fight – but the Australian made it clear the plan was swiftly rejected.

Norris remains the points leader with two rounds to go, despite the team’s double disqualification in Las Vegas for excessive plank wear. That same penalty wiped out Piastri’s fourth place, leaving him tied with Max Verstappen on 366 points and 24 behind his teammate heading into Qatar.

But while McLaren has prided itself all season on treating its drivers equally, the tight title picture prompted a conversation – albeit a short one – about whether Piastri should now support Norris’ campaign.

Piastri insists the discussion didn’t last long.

“We’ve had a very brief discussion on it, and the answer is no,” he said. “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.”

‘Still a Chance’ – Even If It’s a Long One

Piastri acknowledges his odds have narrowed since his mid-season surge, but he refuses to shift his mindset.

“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,” he said. “Obviously I also know that it’s a bit of an outside shot.”

He knows that even perfection won’t guarantee the crown.

“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 the plan is simple: deliver the best races possible, and let the rest fall where it may.

“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.”

Qatar Confidence and a Familiar Battleground

With three scoring opportunities left – including Saturday’s Sprint – Piastri says his approach hasn’t shifted despite the sharpened stakes.

“Not necessarily, no,” he replied when asked if the moment feels more critical. “I mean I think every weekend you try to get the best result you can and whether that’s round one or round 23, that’s the same mentality.”

He knows the championship maths – and knows what he can control.

“So obviously yes I know what the state of play is in terms of the championship picture, but ultimately the best way of keeping my hopes in as good a shape as I can is trying to go out and win and get the best results I can.”

Returning to Losail gives Piastri added optimism. It was here, after all, that he claimed his maiden F1 win in the 2023 Sprint, beating Verstappen in the process.

“Yeah, confident I would say,” he explained. “I think it’s a circuit that I’ve enjoyed, so I’ve done well in the past.

“I think Vegas was looking reasonable from a pace point of view, just qualifying the end of Q3 didn’t go how I wanted and then the race, yeah obviously the race was what it was and a few mistakes in there, but I think the pace when I had clean air to be able to use my pace was pretty good.”

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He believes McLaren has already addressed some of the conditions that caught them out in Vegas – but Qatar is a different beast.

“I think we’ve already found a lot of improvements in those kind of conditions, but obviously here is a much different circuit, much higher speed, very grippy tarmac, pretty consistent, maybe some wind around, but pretty consistent temperatures at least, so yeah hopefully it could be a good weekend.”

As the title fight narrows to its final chapters, Piastri isn’t ready to play wingman – at least not yet. Norris may lead the charge, but the Australian insists he’s still very much in it.

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