Oscar Piastri issues defiant quip as Verstappen challenge intensifies

Oscar Piastri quipped he would “still rather be where I am than the other two”, when asked about how Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are eating into his World Championship lead.

Piastri’s lead over McLaren teammate Norris was cut to 14 points after finishing three places behind him in the United States Grand Prix, but Verstappen holds significant momentum having taken 64 points out of the Drivers’ Championship leaders in recent races.

Oscar Piastri quizzed on looming Max Verstappen threat

Verstappen took another 23 points out of Piastri’s advantage over the course of the Sprint and grand prix in Austin, with the young Australian having finished fifth in Sunday’s race, while the Dutchman eased to a dominant victory.

That led to questions over whether McLaren can sustain its advantage with both drivers compared to the sole Red Bull challenger, who is on a run of five consecutive top-two finishes.

Even though Verstappen has now acknowledged the potential to mount a late challenge, Piastri is not yet concerned about the Dutchman’s charge, believing the impetus is on McLaren to rediscover its early-season form.

When asked if Verstappen is becoming more of a worry in the title race, Piastri replied to PlanetF1.com and others: “Not necessarily.

“I mean, he is obviously there and he’s quick, but I think for me, the biggest focus is just trying to work out why this weekend was tough, and try and get back on the form we’ve had earlier in the season. If we can find that again, then the results will take care of themselves.”

More on the United States Grand Prix weekend

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Pressed on the subject and if the title momentum is beginning to switch, the Australian quipped: “Not really, I’d still rather be where I am than the other two.

“But, obviously, this weekend has not been what what I wanted or what I expected. This weekend has been quite different to the previous couple.

“Baku was obviously a bit of a disaster for very different reasons, and Singapore was what it was, so I think this weekend has been kind of the odd one out compared to others.

“Definitely, Max and Red Bull have found a lot of pace since the summer break as well. We saw flashes of it at the start of the year, but it’s been consistent since Zandvoort.”

Given the psychological implications that can come with a change of momentum in the World Championship, Piastri is remaining level-headed as Formula 1 heads to Mexico City next weekend.

Despite Verstappen’s recent form, the McLaren driver is not yet feeling any impact of that on himself – adding the four-time World Champion still has significant ground to make up.

“I mean, he’s obviously had a good run in the last few races,” Piastri said. “But ultimately, if we can find our way again, find our pace, and certainly for me, find the pace again, then I don’t have any major concerns.

“Still a long way to go in the championship, it is still for Max anyway. He’s obviously chased it down pretty quick, but it’s not exactly a small gap with five rounds to go. So I think if we can find our pace again, then things take care of themselves.”

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