Oscar Piastri insists he would rather be in his shoes despite Formula 1 title rival Max Verstappen being the one in title-winning form. The Aussie is 40 points clear of Verstappen and 14 ahead of McLaren team-mate Lando Norris heading into this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix.
But Verstappen was 104 behind just four rounds ago and has thrust himself back into contention since with three Grand Prix victories and a Sprint win. “Everyone likes a good underdog story and trying to come back is sometimes a bit easier,” Piastri said. “But I’d rather have the championship lead than be in any other spot – it means you’re doing something right.”
Piastri’s win in Verstappen’s homeland at the end of August put a three-figure points gap between them and few thought the title battle would be anything but a two-horse race from there. And Piastri has admitted that “probably everyone” had ruled the Dutchman out as a candidate for the crown.
He said: “It has been a bit of a surprise. He has come into the fight quicker than I expected. The gap has shrunk a little bit in the last few races, but for me the focus has always been on trying to go as fast as I can and get the most out of every weekend.
“Some of them we have and some of them we definitely haven’t, so that’s really all I’m focused on. If I do a good enough job of getting on top of that, then it doesn’t really matter what the picture looks like.”
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Verstappen’s win in Austin last weekend was his seventh on US soil – more than any other driver in F1 history. And now he heads straight to another venue which has been very kind to the Dutchman and his team in recent years. Verstappen has taken five wins in Mexico City in the past and a sixth this weekend would make it his most successful circuit in F1.
But he knows he and his Red Bull team must be “perfect” if he is to get the better of the McLaren duo. He said: “We have gained a lot of positive momentum over the past few races. We want to keep pushing and extracting as much performance out of the car as we can and the team have been working hard to do this. We need to keep having perfect weekends to fight for the championship.
“It’s important to hit the ground running in Mexico. The circuit tends to suit our car and it will be all about managing our tyres and the grip. Of course, the high altitude always brings unique challenges, decreasing the air density, which will be affecting everyone, but it will be exciting to round up the double header there.”