Oscar Piastri says McLaren are “very aligned” in their approach to racing as the Formula 1 title battle heats up between him and team-mate Lando Norris.
The Australian, who leads Norris by 31 points heading into this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, said he “trusted” the team following post-race discussions after the Italian Grand Prix, where he was asked to give up second place to Norris due to a pit-stop issue.
“A highly talked about moment,” Piastri said. “We’ve clarified a lot of things, and we know how we’re going to go racing moving forward. What’s happened is done.
“We’ve had a lot of discussions about how we want to go racing and a lot of that is to stay for us. If we give out that info, we become very easy targets to pick off because everyone knows what we’re going to do. It is all very aligned, but it stays in-house.”
McLaren’s controversial call in Monza came after a strategic decision to pit Piastri before Norris, despite the Briton having led the team’s charge throughout the race. While Piastri’s stop was smooth, Norris lost four seconds due to a problem with his left front wheel, dropping him behind his team-mate.
McLaren later decided to reverse the positions, citing their choice to change the pit-stop sequence as the reason, despite having previously agreed that pit-stop issues were a normal part of racing.
“From Monza, there was another factor outside of the slow pit stop, being the order we pitted in,” said Piastri. “That was a contributing factor to why we swapped.
“That one I’m happy to talk about because it happened. We can’t plan for every scenario, but we are very aligned, and I respect the team’s decisions and trust they will do their best to make the right one.
“The biggest thing for me from Monza was it was a weekend where I deserved to finish third. I didn’t deserve to finish second because of the pace I had. I was quick at certain points but not quick enough the whole weekend. That is my main takeaway from that.”
Piastri also stood by his in-race comments that slow pit stops are a part of racing.
“That is a decision we’ve made,” he said. “In the car, the context wasn’t there about what else had happened in terms of the pit stop sequencing. So it was decided there was another factor for the reasoning in swapping.”
Meanwhile, Norris expects Ferrari and Red Bull to be strong contenders on the streets of Baku but remains focused on his own performance.
“I’m confident I can have a good weekend and my goal of course is to win,” he said.
Norris, who retired from the Dutch Grand Prix due to an oil leak, returned to the podium alongside Piastri at Monza, though Red Bull’s Max Verstappen once again demonstrated a clear pace advantage.
“It shows we’re vulnerable, but I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing,” Norris admitted. “I will try to use it as an advantage. If we are just first and second every weekend, it makes my life even trickier. So I will try to take advantage of that.
“But we’ve both been performing at a high level and it’s going to be tricky. But I am doing everything I can and that’s all I can ask of myself.”
Norris, with five race wins this season, sits 63 points ahead of Verstappen in the championship. He acknowledged that the Dutchman taking points off Piastri in the remaining seven races could aid his own title hopes. “Sometimes it might help,” he said.
McLaren also have the opportunity to seal the constructors’ championship in Baku for the second year running. They will do so if they outscore Ferrari by at least nine points, while not being outscored by Mercedes by 12 or Red Bull by 33.
If successful, it would be the earliest any team has ever secured the constructors’ crown, with seven races still to go.
Piastri said, “It is a testament to all the hard work from the team. It is a pretty remarkable position we are in to be even talking about clinching the constructors’ championship this early.
“Just a very proud moment for everyone, myself included, and just excited to get back in the car and drive all their hard work.”
Norris echoed the sentiment, calling it a “wonderful thing” if McLaren can wrap up the title in Baku. “To be here and ready to wrap up the championship is a pretty huge achievement,” he said.
Former McLaren driver Fernando Alonso praised the work of team principal Andrea Stella and CEO Zak Brown in transforming the team’s fortunes.
“The credit has to go for Andrea and Zak that they created a winning structure and car, but they were also able to manage the driver for the benefit of the team,” said Alonso.
“It is less exciting to watch and for media because there is no controversy in some of the wins, not yet anyway. But instead of thinking that way we should think how good Andrea and Zak are managing everything.”
