Oscar Piastri admits Max Verstappen’s re-emergence in F1 title race is ‘bit of a surprise’

Oscar Piastri has admitted that the late charge into a tense, three-way Formula One title fight by the defending champion, Max Verstappen, has taken him by surprise.

The Australian also confirmed that he and his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, go into this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix with a “clean slate”, free to race one another as the pair battle with Verstappen.

Norris trails Piastri by just 14 points with five meetings remaining but Verstappen, who was 104 points off after the Dutch Grand Prix in August, has won three of the last four races and is now only 40 points off the lead. After his comprehensive victory at the last round in Austin, Verstappen acknowledged that he was well and truly back in the contest, which he had believed was beyond him at the midway point of the season.

Piastri, who has not finished in front of Verstappen for the past four rounds and managed no higher than third in that run, said the Dutchman’s resurgence had not been expected. “The run of form that he has had since Monza has been a bit of a surprise. There were flashes of that performance early in the season but also pretty big dips,” Piastri said. “He has come to the fight quicker than I expected.”

However, Piastri insisted he remained confident despite the world champion’s run of form. “The gap has shrunk a bit in the last few races but the focus has always been on going as fast as I can,” he said. “I’d rather have the lead than be in any other spot. There is no benefit for me in worrying about that or focusing on that.”

Piastri also cleared up McLaren’s position after he and Norris had clashed with each other in the last two rounds. After Norris barged into Piastri while overtaking in Singapore, McLaren said there would be “repercussions” for the Briton.

In Austin last week, however, Piastri was at fault in a first corner incident with Norris in the sprint race. With Norris starting in second and Piastri in third, the Australian tried to cut back inside his teammate but in doing so was struck by the Sauber of Nico Hülkenberg. His move was risky given how crowded it can be at turn one at the Circuit of the Americas. The impact speared him into Norris at speed, lifted Piastri’s car into the air and entirely sheared off one of Norris’s wheels, damage that ended both their races.

Max Verstappen's dominant performance in Austin has added extra spice to this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix. Photograph: Alessio De Marco/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock

Once more McLaren said they would review the incident and Piastri confirmed that as of the Mexican GP neither would face any punishment from the team. “We’ve gone through it again, normally we go through every weekend, regardless of what’s happened,” he said. “There is a degree of responsibility from my side in the sprint and we’re starting this weekend with a clean slate for both of us. So, just going out and racing, and see who can come out on top.”

He went on to confirm that any potential sanctions against Norris from his move at the Singapore Grand Prix would not be imposed. “The consequences on Lando’s side have been removed,” he said before confirming it was the aggressive nature of his cut-back in Austin that had been considered at fault. “Yes, ultimately it was that. There were a lot of factors involved but yes, ultimately, that’s what has been decided.”

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the FIA has reinstated a former Russian general, under sanctions from the US, UK and Canada, to the governing body’s World Motorsport Council. Victor Kiryanov, who is head of the Russian Automobile Federation, had stepped down from his role on the WMC voluntarily when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 but returned to his position in June this year after the FIA approved the reinstatement of Russian and Belarusian officials “in the interests of fairness”.

An FIA spokesperson said: “The FIA is a politically neutral body, governed by a democratically elected senate. Members of the world motorsport council are elected, and serve, in an individual capacity. The FIA has a longstanding commitment to upholding motor sport’s neutrality.

“Its decision to allow all elected members, regardless of nationality, to continue serving their terms is in line with the approach of other international sports bodies.”