Mexico City, Oct 24 (AP) In the past, Oscar Piastri struggled in the final races of a season while trying to secure a racing championship. The Australian driver hopes that the past can help him cope with his current circumstances in F-1 starting this weekend in the Mexican Grand Prix.
Piastri won seven of the first 15 Gran Prix races this season to build a comfortable 104-point lead over reigning champion Max Verstappen, who has been in great form since and has taken advantage of McLaren's troubles to cut that lead to 40 in just four races.
“I think he's been very consistent in the last few weekends. And, and being strong as well, there's no denying that,” Piastri said Thursday. “But there's no benefit worrying about that, the thing that's going to help me win this championship is trying to get the most out of myself.” Piastri found himself in similar situations before in his career. In 2019 in the Renault Eurocup, he had a 40-point lead over Victor Martin, who cut it to 5 1/2 points, but Piastri secured the championship in the last race of the season.
Something similar happened to Piastri in the 2020 season of Formula 3, where he lost a 25-point lead and then trailed Logan Sargeant by seven points, but finished strong in the last races to win the crown.
"There are some similarities, yes. I think ultimately in this championship, I feel stronger than I did in that year, and some things are a bit different. I think it's also similar to the Formula Renault championship I had,” Piastri said.
“I think it is a good thing I have evidence that I can pull it off and won both of those championships. Those are nice things to look back on. But I also know that just because I've done it before doesn't mean it's automatic to happen this time around.”
Under the current rules, tampering with tape markers is not illegal, but some Red Bull critics pointed out that it could be considered to be poor sportsmanship.
“I guess it took a bit longer for whatever reason and the gate closed,” Verstappen. said." If he was distracted or not, the right way was to stay out of it, I think is quite clear. How do you explain it? Also the stewards. So I think that is quite understandable that you get fined for that." Piastri was politically correct when asked about the incident.
“I don't have that much to add, but they're within their rights to do it. But obviously, in Austin, they were on the grid too late doing it,” the Australian driver said. “I guess gamesmanship. But everyone will have their own opinion on whether it's necessary or not”.
Ferrari's closing on a one-year anniversary without wins The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez saw a Ferrari driver at the top of the podium nearly a year ago, when Carlos Sainz won the Mexican GP on Oct. 27, 2024, and that streak could be extended according to Charles LeClerc.
“I remember very much last year where Carlos was actually very strong the whole weekend, and it was difficult for me to get close, but at the moment it doesn't seem very likely that we are going to fight for the win this weekend,” LeClerc said. “But, never say never.” The 28-year-old driver has six podium finishes this season including a third place last weekend at Austin. His teammate Lewis Hamilton has yet to reach one.
“There are many things we've learned from from last weekend. I hope that we can bring it here," Piastri said. "However, I would like to lower the expectations, it doesn't mean that we'll see the same kind of performance this weekend.” Ferrari is third in the constructors race already won by McLaren, but it has just a three-point lead over Red Bull.
“Last year was a very positive weekend for for the team in Mexico. I hope we can reproduce that, but I feel like we are further away compared to the last year,” LeClerc said. “Until the end of the season, it's going to be very tough to win races without any strange things happening.”
This report includes content sourced from Press Trust of India (PTI), edited for clarity and context.
