Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris note on starting with a clean slate after talks post US GP, as they and Max Verstappen on title scenes plus several F1 drivers chip in.
After what transpired in Singapore, McLaren put Norris under scanner with unsaid repercussions during the course of F1 US GP weekend. But after the sprint race incident which unknowingly got kicked-off by Piastri, things have been set back and there is a clean slate from Mexico GP onward.
Piastri noted about it during the press conference and Norris later on confirmed the same that they go into Mexico without any sanction on either of their heads. While the Australian acknowledged Red Bull and Verstappen’s threat, he didn’t count him in as much as the Brit did.
Even for Verstappen, he is trying his level best to close in and have perfect race weekends to stay in touching distance. The Dutchman understands that any slip up in any of the five races, his chance will diminish and it will all between Piastri and Norris, which is why the McLaren F1 pair is a bit calm.
For Piastri, he is taking some learning from his title winning years in junior programme, where he had similar drop towards the end but still managed to win the championship. Other F1 drivers chipped in with their opinions, but Fernando Alonso tried not to call it a 2007 repeat when the fight between the Spaniard and Lewis Hamilton, allowed Kimi Raikkonen to win the championship.
Clean slate –
Piastri: “Yeah, we’ve gone through it again – and we go through every weekend regardless of what’s happened. And I think there is a degree of responsibility from my side in the sprint. We’re starting this weekend with a clean slate for both of us. So, yeah, just going out and racing and see who can come out on top. Yes, the consequences from Lando’s side have been removed. And yes, ultimately, it was that.
“There’s a lot of factors involved, but ultimately, yes – that’s what’s been decided. Not necessarily, no. I think for us, it’s pretty clear what those rules are – which is don’t crash into each other. But I think regardless of what scenario you’re in, that’s kind of how you’re expected to race as team-mates. So I don’t think that adds any pressure into the scenario.”
Norris: “Yeah, I mean, pretty easy talks. Yeah, I mean, pretty easy talks. I guess it’s good from now on, just looking ahead for the rest of the season. It’s kind of all, it wasn’t before, but it’s all eyes forward and it’s just, yeah, focus on myself and do what I want to do. Of course, it’s better when there’s nothing in the way or nothing that might be as satisfying as you are there, which it was before. So yeah, nothing much on it. Just was a quick few good conversations, eyes on the rest of the week.”
Verstappen, Red Bull challenge –
Piastri: “It’s not really something I think about, no. I think he’s been very consistent in the last few weekends and been strong as well – there’s no denying that. But for me, there’s no benefit in worrying about that or focusing on that. The thing that’s going to help me win this championship is trying to get the most out of myself, the most out of the car, the most out of the team around me, and worrying about anyone else on the grid is not focusing on that. So he’s there, he’s in the fight, but ultimately that doesn’t change how I’m going to approach my racing.”
Norris: “No, because they won the last four constructors’ before us. There’s some pretty smart people in the team, who have won multiple world championships. And they were never that bad like, they were never that far off. They had certain issues. And as soon as they addressed those issues, I think from that, when you understand where we’ve come from a couple of years ago, we made much bigger steps than what they did to win the championships. So, I think when you know what’s possible from, internally, from my team at McLaren and how once you kind of start to figure things out and understand things, what kind of differences you can make, that’s the same with them.
“They have an incredible team. They have won many world championships, have an incredible driver. And when you put things together, you cannot be surprised, especially when you live in a world that is similar. So I think when you know everything that goes on and when you understand how the aerodynamics work with the car and all these things, it’s quite the opposite of a surprise also. We’ve seen in the past that you don’t necessarily want to be involved here because it’s such a big turnaround to turn around.”
Jitters in the camp –
Piastri: “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 – in some ways, scarily similar. But the good thing I have is the evidence that I can pull it off – I won both of those championships. So those are nice things to look back on, definitely. But I also know that just because I’ve done it before doesn’t mean it’s automatically going to happen this time.
“But it is nice to look back on how I’ve handled those kinds of situations in the past, the experience I have now from that, and how I can apply that to this year. Ultimately, it’s about trying to go as fast as possible and try and qualify as best as you can and finish as high as you can. It’s obviously not simple to execute that, but the plan at least is pretty straightforward.”
Norris: “I mean, it’s not like I’ve won in a race since. So it’s not like, yeah. It’s not like it’s been an easy return to from what it was 30-something points to what it is now, quite a few points to turn around, especially against an incredible driver in the same car. So I feel like I’ve been doing a good job from that case. But of course, there’s another guy who’s been winning the races and he’s been catching up a lot, so. But there’s, yeah, from that side, I think we could go about it like it’s been quick. They’ve been very fast. He’s been doing a good job like that. They’ve been all season.
“He’s had many poor positions through the whole year. So it’s not like they were ever that bad. He’s had poor positions at almost every single point of the year. So, there’s no surprise that when he just clicks a little bit more, they get the car in a better place. And Max does all he does. But they’re catching up. At the same time, it doesn’t change anything that I do. I try and, uh, win the race every weekend. That’s my approach. It has been for a while. And that’s the approach I’ll continue with.”
Verstappen: “That’s not really my problem, is it? I think as a team, they decide what they want to do, right, with the rules. I just focus on my own performances. And for me what is the most important is that we have a competitive car. So if we have a competitive car and a chance to beat them, we will. So that’s the only thing that I’m focused on.”
Riding high, better than before –
Verstappen: “I think it’s still the same. I mean, worst case, I finish P3, right? So nothing really changes. I just want to try and win races until the end of the season. I hope it’s possible every weekend, but it’s impossible to know at the moment. We’re on a good run, and we also know as a team that it needs to be perfect until the end to have a chance. If it works, then yeah, great, unbelievable comeback. If it doesn’t work, you just continue. You can be proud of, I think, the end of the season that we’ve had and the upswing in performance, but we will worry about that in Abu Dhabi. Honestly, it doesn’t really change a lot. Of course naturally you want to win, you want to win the championship.
“And of course I’ve won championships very late, very early. Now this one of course is very different, because I think for most of the season it was a lot harder for us. To be honest with you, to still be in this fight is very surprising. But I take it. And now, like I said before, we need to be perfect. But for me it’s just positive pressure. I mean, I’m loving what I’m doing. If the car is competitive, much better to be racing in it than when it’s not. Every race that you do, I know until the end you can’t afford any bad luck or mistakes. But this team I think has shown in the past that normally we perform pretty well under pressure anyway. And that’s what we’ll try to do until the end.”
Other F1 drivers say –
Andrea Kimi Antonelli: “I mean, if they’re able to maintain this form, for sure. They’ve been improving the car and obviously Max is doing the difference as well. I think he’s probably in some ways in a better position than the other two because he’s got nothing to lose – so he’s going for it. With Max in this form, I wouldn’t say never. I think he’s got a pretty good shot.”
Carlos Ssainz: “Yeah, I agree. With that philosophy of nothing to lose, everything feels like less pressure on your shoulders and you just go and send it. I think he’s maximising his chances with that philosophy. With the tracks that are coming – especially Mexico, famous for its Turn 1, Vegas for overtaking and also a tricky Turn 1 – the whole championship is opening. The only thing I would say is maybe he cannot afford one bad race, because then all of your good work is undone and it’s back to McLaren alone. So yeah, they just need to keep the momentum going and not let one race go bad until the end of the year.”
Nico Hulkenberg: “Yeah, very similar. You can never write him off. But obviously it depends on what McLaren do and how they perform on track. But I think it’s doable – possible.”
Fernando Alonso: “I don’t know, let’s see how it goes to Abu Dhabi. These things can change quickly, race after race or even day after day. Free practice we have a feeling, then in qualifying we have the opposite feeling and then on the race it depends how it unfolds. You can have a different contender, but let’s see in Abu Dhabi. But I don’t think the situation is that similar to 2007, I disagree. Well, yeah, in a way yes because McLaren was dominant and Red Bull was struggling on car pace for the middle of the season. Now they seem to find a little bit of the right direction with the car, and when the car is close enough, Max will make the difference, so yeah, not a surprise.”
Alexander Albon: “It’s a good track for him here, that’s for sure. It’ll be interesting. It’ll be interesting to me to see how McLaren have to play it, because they’re still playing both drivers into the championship. But at the same time, you could easily cover him [Verstappen] off, if you prioritise one driver. But I think what they’re doing is fair, and they shouldn’t do that. So it is going to come down to the wire. It seems like they’ve [Red Bull] got good momentum right now. Their upgrade seems to be working since Monza. You can never count Max out, that’s for sure.”
Gabriel Bortoleto: “Well, there is not really much secret. I think what he’s doing is incredible. It’s one of the best comebacks of a championship, in my view, ever done in history. Let’s see what he can achieve. I think he’s been winning recently quite a lot. I think the McLarens have been strong, but not as strong as maybe the beginning of the year when they were 1-2 every round. Anything can happen, but yeah, definitely he’s doing an amazing job. I agree with that [Mekies calling it a historic comeback irrespective].
“He didn’t have the best car or even the top three car for most of the parts of the year and he has been able to be in the title fight for this long. And now that I think he has they found out some good stuff with the car and he’s been able to put some good performance, I believe it’s already history. There is no percentage, even if even if you are 10 points ahead in the championship, anything can happen. Who would have expected that he would be fighting for the championship after they saw how McLaren started the year, for example.
“It’s impossible to put percentage and I really think people should stop talking about it because no one will give you a right answer or a wrong answer. It will be only time that will tell you what’s the truth. I’m not surprised that he has been able to do this, but I’m surprised that they have been able to evolve the car so much since summer break. That surprises me because it’s not easy to do that, especially when you’re already in a good level like they are.”
Charles Leclerc: “I mean, I’m never surprised. I think Max is always driving at a very high level, and considering Red Bull is probably the team that has pushed the developments more than other teams – I think McLaren has stopped quite a while ago, we also stopped quite a while ago and Mercedes and Red Bull are the two teams that pushed for a bit longer – it’s not a complete surprise. I’ll be very surprised if he manages to win the championship from where he is.
“I mean, again, he is always on top of things and always performing extremely well, but it’s still 40 points, and 40 points is significant. So if I had to bet one dollar, I probably would on the McLaren drivers. But yeah you can never rule out Max. Which one? That is a difficult one, I mean, Oscar has been very strong this season, very-very solid, if you look at the last three races you look that Lando is coming back to very-very strong form, so it is going to be close, so I don’t know.”
Oliver Bearman: “Well, he’s on a good streak. I think he is the best driver in F1. I think he is best driver ever been in F1 as well, for someone like me, a rookie aspiring to hopefully one day fight for a world championship, Max is the guy that I’m looking up to, because he’s the current reference for the most talented and the quickest guy in F1. Previously in the year he didn’t have a car to compete, but now it looks like he does, and it’s going to be really cool to see how these last five pan out.”
Pierre Gasly: “It is amazing. Can he do it? Yes. Is is going to do it? I don’t know. I think it is amazing for the sport, it is amazing for the fans. And it is going to be a three-way battle, probably slightly different than what we saw a couple of months ago. I think once again, it just shows that in the sport it’s important to never give up. The season is so long. I’m not going to lie, I’m even a little surprised that he came back that fast and that close to the front. Once again, I think it’s just a great proof of resilience and always trying. Let’s see what happens this weekend, but I’m sure he’s building up the pressure on the two McLaren guys. Can Lando win? Yes. Can Piastri win? Yes. Can Max win? Yes. So I think it’s just going to be a great battle for the championship.”
Lance Stroll: “Max is 40 behinds the leader? I think it is possible. So, couple of wins for Max, couple more clashes between McLarens, then it all changes quick. Yes, everyone at home is enjoying the battle.”
Isack Hadjar: “He is definitely in the fight, he has a better momentum, I still believe that McLaren is the faster car, especially in the race. In qualifying, he put it together but in the race, they have got very good pace but they are fighting each other. He is in a very good position.”
Lewis Hamilton: “You really have to be cutthroat. That’s what Max is. He’s going to take this from them if they don’t do the same. They’ve got to be pushing and they’ve got to dig deep to be able to, firstly, hold off someone like Max and the car that he’s in at the moment. But also, for either of them to come out ahead, consistency is key and you’ve seen that from Max in the last few races. It’s challenging when you’re in the team, the pressure is high. It’s definitely a time where you have to put your blinkers up, you have to block absolutely everything from the outside because there’s so much coming in, positive and negative.”
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Here’s Toto Wolff on Max Verstappen
