F1 Austrian Grand Prix: Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris remain 'free to race' for title
Oscar Piastri says he and McLaren teammate Lando Norris are 'still free to race' for the Formula 1 title after their collision at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Norris apologized after clipping Piastri's car and hitting the wall in Canada 11 days ago. The incident ended Norris' race but Piastri finished fourth to extend his standings lead to 22 points over Norris.
Speaking on Thursday ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Piastri dismissed suggestions that the incident might prompt a rethink of McLaren's in-house 'papaya rules' for battles between its drivers, or even that a time might be near when McLaren might favor Piastri over Norris.
The rules remain the 'same as always,' Piastri said. 'What happened in Canada wasn't ideal, but we're still free to race, still fighting for a championship each,' Piastri said. 'We'll keep going racing and make sure that we don't come into contact again.'
He added: 'The first rule, regardless of whether it's written down or not, is that the two cars from the same team don't crash.'
No McLaren driver has won F1 since a young Lewis Hamilton in 2008. Defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull is Piastri's and Norris' closest non-McLaren challenger, 43 points off the lead.
Asked if he foresees a time when he could argue to McLaren's leadership that he should be favored over Norris, Piastri said he didn't want to discuss it.
While 'ultimately it can only be one of us,' Piastri said, 'I think the situation has to change dramatically to start having those conversations and they're a very long way away at the moment. At the moment, all I can ask for is a fair chance to try and win the championship and that's what I want as well. So no, I'm not willing to enter those talks at all.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- The Hindu
F1 Austrian Grand Prix: Verstappen would welcome Vettel having a role at Red Bull
Max Verstappen said he would welcome fellow four-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel back to Red Bull after the German spoke of possibly succeeding consultant Helmut Marko at the team. Austrian Marko, 82 and a former racer who was blinded in one eye after a stone pierced his visor during the 1972 French Grand Prix in Clermont-Ferrand, has a contract until the end of next year. Vettel, 37, won consecutive titles with Red Bull from 2010-13, retired in 2022 after stints at Ferrari and Aston Martin. 'It's more than normal that someone who has achieved so much with Red Bull, has been brought up by Red Bull (should return),' Verstappen told reporters at the Austrian Grand Prix on Thursday when asked for his thoughts. 'In a sense there's always a spot available, right? 'I think also Seb always kept a really good relationship with Helmut anyway, even when he left. I didn't know that of course they were talking but I'm sure that there's always a space for Seb in any kind of form.' Marko was a close confidant of the team's late Austrian owner Dietrich Mateschitz, serving as his trusted representative in the paddock as well as also taking charge of the young driver programme. During Vettel's era the outspoken advisor was part of a leading trio with principal Christian Horner and technical ace Adrian Newey, who is now at Aston Martin. RELATED | Vettel confirms 'talks' with Marko over succeeding him at Red Bull 'We're in contact about this, though maybe not so intensively or in-depth yet, but it's possible,' Vettel told Austria's ORF television recently. 'He's already said a few times that he'd stop, but he's still here, and I wish him all the best so that he stays around for a very long time.' Marko told Austria's Kleine Zeitung on Wednesday that Vettel was following everything very closely. 'The question of succession is also one of the issues,' he said.
Pink Villa
5 hours ago
- Pink Villa
F1 (Formula One) Box Office: Brad Pitt starrer scores strong advance booking in India, headed to open at Rs 5 crore
Brad Pitt's much-awaited movie F1 (Formula One) is all set to hit the screens in a couple of hours. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, the sports drama is among the most anticipated movies of Hollywood this year, and it has generated a solid buzz not only in the US but also in the Indian markets. F1 (Formula One) sells 65,000 tickets in top national chains in India Distributed by Warner Bros Pictures and Apple Original Films, F1 has recorded impressive pre-sales at the Indian box office. As per estimates, the Brad Pitt starrer has sold over 65,000 tickets in the top three national chains- PVR Inox and Cinepolis- for the first day alone. The advance booking of F1 indicates a good opening at the Indian box office. Usually, Hollywood movies, apart from IP/franchise films, do not open with an opening of Rs 5 crore plus in India, but F1 has the potential to emerge as an exception. As per current trends, the Brad Pitt starrer has chances of not only surpassing the Rs 5 crore net mark on its opening day, but also can touch the Rs 6 crore figure. However, a lot will depend on its spot-booking and walk-ins. Given multiple releases this weekend, F1 is releasing on a decent number of screens. As soon as word-of-mouth flourishes, the stakeholders are expected to add more shows, seeing the audience's reception and demand. It will face tough competition from Kajol's MAA, Vishnu Manchu's Kannappa, and Rekha's Umrao Jaan re-release. F1 (Formula One) worldwide box office projections On the global front, the sports drama is projected to debut with USD 100 million plus, which will be a banger start for a standalone movie. It is expected to gross USD 40 million to USD 50 million on its opening day in the domestic markets alone. If it stands on the expectations, the movie will storm past the opening day collections of the M3GAN sequel at the US box office. Reportedly, the movie is mounted on a high budget of USD 200 million. Stay tuned to Pinkvilla for more updates.
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- The Hindu
F1 Austrian Grand Prix: Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris remain 'free to race' for title
Oscar Piastri says he and McLaren teammate Lando Norris are 'still free to race' for the Formula 1 title after their collision at the Canadian Grand Prix. Norris apologized after clipping Piastri's car and hitting the wall in Canada 11 days ago. The incident ended Norris' race but Piastri finished fourth to extend his standings lead to 22 points over Norris. Speaking on Thursday ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Piastri dismissed suggestions that the incident might prompt a rethink of McLaren's in-house 'papaya rules' for battles between its drivers, or even that a time might be near when McLaren might favor Piastri over Norris. The rules remain the 'same as always,' Piastri said. 'What happened in Canada wasn't ideal, but we're still free to race, still fighting for a championship each,' Piastri said. 'We'll keep going racing and make sure that we don't come into contact again.' He added: 'The first rule, regardless of whether it's written down or not, is that the two cars from the same team don't crash.' No McLaren driver has won F1 since a young Lewis Hamilton in 2008. Defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull is Piastri's and Norris' closest non-McLaren challenger, 43 points off the lead. Asked if he foresees a time when he could argue to McLaren's leadership that he should be favored over Norris, Piastri said he didn't want to discuss it. While 'ultimately it can only be one of us,' Piastri said, 'I think the situation has to change dramatically to start having those conversations and they're a very long way away at the moment. At the moment, all I can ask for is a fair chance to try and win the championship and that's what I want as well. So no, I'm not willing to enter those talks at all.'
