Oscar Piastri suggested the McLaren drivers will be on an even footing from now on after Lando Norris lost more ground to Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship.

The Dutchman could win the World title this weekend if he finishes ahead of Norris but even if that does not happen, Verstappen’s fourth title looks like a matter of when not if.

Oscar Piastri gives McLaren ‘papaya rules’ update

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock

McLaren faced a lot of criticism earlier in the year for not favouring Norris over Piastri, especially in the Hungarian Grand Prix when Norris was ordered to give P1 back to his team-mate having undercut him in the pits, but in later races the Australian has been asked to step aside.

Now though with Norris 62 points off Verstappen, Piastri says the drivers are back to equal after Norris’ title bid became less and less likely.

“Pretty much, yes,” Piastri told media including PlanetF1.com in Las Vegas. “There’s still some very specific scenarios where I might be needed to help out, but for the very large majority of situations, it’s back to how it was.

“The Drivers’ Championship picture is very slim, and the Constructors’ Championship is certainly not over for us. It’s certainly not a done deal, so that’s definitely the biggest thing.

“It’s a very specific few scenarios that maybe I’ll still help out, if that’s what I’m asked to do, but I’m going into the weekend trying to win.

“I’m happy that we don’t have to go into those kind of things as much anymore, and obviously next year, I want to make sure that I’m not in a position, championship-wise, to be subject to that.

“But in reality, I probably needed to help out at that one time in Brazil and that’s been it. So it’s been a lot of talk for not much on-track action.”

McLaren’s fight it appears is in the Constructors’ Championship with them having a 36-point lead over Ferrari and 49 ahead of Red Bull.

More from media day in Las Vegas

Valtteri Bottas reveals ‘what’s next’ after ‘I know now’ verdict

Lando Norris admits this ‘defining’ F1 2024 ‘moment’ was ‘tough’ to take

Reflecting on the season so far, Piastri said he wished they had the Miami spec of the car from the start of the year as that “would have made life a little bit easier.”

“I think as a team, I mean, a lot of lessons as a team. I think we’re probably wishing that we had our Miami version of the car from the start of the year. It would have made life a little bit easier.

“But also, I think just never giving up as well. After the first race, I think everyone expected Red Bull to dominate and it’s not been the case.

“So I think it’s been a lot about just trusting the processes we’ve been putting in place in terms of upgrades and building the culture and just continuing to work hard and obviously that’s paying off massively now.”

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