Oscar Piastri spills on F1 world title fight with McLaren teammate Lando Norris

News.com.au

8 hours ago

Oscar Piastri has discussed the shift in mindset from both himself and his team as the young Aussie chases his first Formula 1 world title.
The 24-year-old is the only driver to bank points in every race this season, currently holding a slender nine-point edge over McLaren teammate Lando Norris in the fight for the 2025 crown.
Piastri is on 284 points, ahead of Norris on 275, and with Max Verstappen a distant third on 187 points, the Aussie is now prepared to state it is 'very much a two-horse race'.
Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
All 20 drivers are in the midst of a four-week break following the Hungary Grand Prix on August 3, with the next event the Dutch GP on August 31.
McLaren are playing along to an extent, refusing to publicly voice any specific team rules, with the famous 'papaya rules' a simple mantra for the two studs to avoid crashing into each other and hurting the team.
That scenario did play out when Norris collided with Piastri in Canada, leading to the Brit's only 'did not finish' of the season, while the Aussie came close when he attempted an audacious pass in the penultimate lap in Hungary.
With the drought-breaking 2024 constructors' championship in McLaren's grasp, Piastri said there has been a noticeable shift in the team's approach, as he told Autosport.
He also noted it's far too early to try to bank points, rather than chase outright victories, as he pursues this year's crown.
'I think there's definitely been some changes,' he said.
'Even still now it's too early to kind of just bank points and finish races for the sake of finishing races.
'You still need to try and put your best foot forward and score points.
'Obviously now in the drivers' championship it's very much a two-horse race, so there is kind of some one-on-one racing in some ways, which is probably a little bit of a change from what we've done previously.
'But a lot of what we've done previously has been to try and win constructors' championships and get the team the most points.
'When you're fighting for first and second, you're still getting the same amount of points.
'So there's probably a few changes with that, but a lot of the rules of engagement and the general philosophy of how we go racing is still very much the same.'
With 10 races remaining in the schedule, there is still plenty to play out in the 2025 season.
The steely focused Piastri understandably wheeled out the standard response when it comes to his approach for the rest of the season.
The Victorian knows if he starts worrying about the drivers' standings for the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi, he could easily let his grasp on the title slip away.
'I think the saying of 'taking it race by race', it sounds boring and kind of is boring in some ways, but it is very true,' he explained.
'You can't worry about what's going to happen in Abu Dhabi and take your focus off what you're doing in the weekend, especially at the top of Formula 1.
'You've got to be on top of your game every single time and any focus you take away from that, it means you're not at the top of your game.
'So as clichéd as it is, it is genuinely about focusing on the race you're in, trying to score the most amount of points.
'You could say I need 18 points every weekend for the rest of the year, which is finishing second.
'But if you've got a clear opportunity to win the race and you don't take it, that's not a great way of going racing in my opinion.
'That's what I based my whole career off basically, leaving each weekend knowing that I've done the absolute maximum I can.
Once the Dutch GP rolls around in two weeks' time, it begins a run of three races in four weeks and the only place to see every F1 race live is on Kayo Sports and Foxtel.