Oscar Piastri, the leader of the Formula One championship, admitted on Thursday that he and his McLaren colleague Lando Norris are now effectively facing off in a contest for the title. Going into this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, the last race before the August break, the Australian leads Norris by 16 points. With 11 races remaining, four-time champion Max Verstappen is in third place, 81 points behind him. With McLaren’s current performance, it appears that he will never be able to catch up.
“I suppose so,” Piastri said in response to the question of whether it’s now a two-horse race. Although drivers and McLaren officials had previously opposed announcing early dominance, there is now more information that makes that position harder to uphold. “Lando and I have spent every weekend together, or at least the last few weekends. Throughout the remainder of the year, I anticipate that our competitors will remain formidable and battle hard, particularly at specific tracks,” Piastri stated. We never really know if that’s from Mercedes, Ferrari, Max, or someone else. What occurs in there doesn’t really concern me. My only goal is to win every race and increase my lead.
Last year, Norris finished on pole at the Hungaroring, where Piastri won his maiden Formula One race. Piastri has won six of McLaren’s 13 races, while Norris has won four. McLaren has six one-two finishes. Verstappen has triumphed twice. With 516 points, the team is now 268 points ahead of Ferrari, which is in second place. “Over the past two years that I’ve been with the squad, Hungary has been a wonderful track for us as a team. This weekend, I anticipate that we will be strong once more,” Piastri stated. The 24-year-old claimed to be completely confident in his ability to win by the end of the year.
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