Oscar Piastri arrives at this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix third in the drivers’ championship. He’s 13 points behind McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
Piastri has been the top points scorer since the end of the Australian GP, putting 47 points on board. However, his mistake at Albert Park is hurting him.
The home hero was running second when he spun into the grass during a treacherous downpour, and he was only able to salvage ninth place after he got going again. Norris won the race, with Max Verstappen second.
Piastri hit back by bagging his first-ever pole in China and converting it comfortably. He then finished third in Japan last weekend, just two seconds behind victor Verstappen.
Already, it looks as if there could be a three-way fight for the title involving Verstappen and the McLaren duo. Speaking to German newspaper Sport Bild, via sport.de, Piastri named his favourite.
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Piastri believes that Norris objectively has the ‘best chance’ of winning the title because he currently tops the standings. He’s only one point ahead of Verstappen.
The Dutchman commands respect because he won his fourth straight championship last year despite a ‘material disadvantage’. On balance, McLaren had the best car for the final three-quarters of the season.
They had already lost some ground to the Red Bull superstar by the time they made that jump. But this year, the Woking outfit are clearly the benchmark.
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Lando Norris |
62 |
| 2 |
Max Verstappen |
61 |
| 3 |
Oscar Piastri |
49 |
| 4 |
George Russell |
45 |
| 5 |
Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
30 |
| 6 |
Charles Leclerc |
20 |
| 7 |
Alexander Albon |
18 |
| 8 |
Lewis Hamilton |
15 |
| 9 |
Esteban Ocon |
10 |
| 10 |
Lance Stroll |
10 |
Piastri has only just started his third season in F1 but believes he’s now driving at the level required to win the biggest prize. He’d be the least experienced champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
“On the one hand, as the current world championship leader, he actually has the best chance of winning the title, and on the other hand, our car is the best in Formula 1,” he said.
“Of course, you can’t write off Max. He’s a four-time world champion and won the title last year despite being at a material disadvantage.”
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Christian Horner says McLaren have a problem because they’re determined to maintain parity between their drivers. By contrast, Red Bull have unashamedly thrown their weight behind Verstappen at the outset.
Indeed, Horner was ‘very direct’ with Yuki Tsunoda before his Suzuka debut, telling him Verstappen’s results were the priority. Red Bull are clearly weaker in the constructors’ race but do have a strategic advantage in the drivers’.
Indeed, Damon Hill fears Verstappen can ‘run rings’ around the McLaren drivers while they’re ‘mesmerised’ by one another. Piastri suggested swapping the cars in Japan so he could attack the 27-year-old, but he was denied.
Perhaps the best hope for McLaren is that they stretch their advantage over Red Bull, creating a performance advantage so great that it offsets the intra-team competition. If Piastri and Norris are one and two almost every weekend, it won’t help Verstappen that they’re taking points off each other.
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