Oscar Piastri is still ready to back Lando Norris’ title bid despite his win last weekend.
The Australian moved to within 32 points of his McLaren team-mate with his victory in Baku. But the team still plans to ‘bias’ their strategies towards the Brit as he is closest to Max Verstappen, 59 points clear at the top of the standings. Piastri insists he is okay with that, and that his second victory of the season hasn’t changed his stance.
He said: “Lando is still ahead in the championship and just being honest has a more realistic chance of winning the championship. If I am in a position to still win races, that’s what I want to do. But, naturally, if there are times I can help out for Lando’s championship bid, then I’ll be happy to help if I can.”
McLaren took control of the constructors’ championship race and are 20 points ahead of Red Bull, who they have consistently outscored in recent months. After the Azerbaijan race, Norris declared Ferrari to be his team’s biggest threat going forwards.
But by the time he had touched down in Singapore, he had changed his tune and the Brit thinks it would be foolish to write off Verstappen’s team, even amid their poor run of form. Norris said: “I think it’s too easy for people to say, and they’re dismissing Red Bull too quickly.
“Checo [Sergio Perez] was very quick last weekend and had maybe one of the quickest cars the whole weekend, including in the race. So I think they’re not maximising their results, but they do have quite a quick car.
“We’re in for a good fight with Ferrari and Mercedes at the same time. Mercedes are very quick, Ferrari seem like more consistently the top team at the minute, apart from us, so it’s exciting. It’s a close battle.
“But I don’t think anyone should dismiss Red Bull – they were still probably quicker than us last weekend, when you look at things. We still have to work hard, we still have to improve.”
Even last season, when Red Bull ran away with the championship, the Singapore Grand Prix was difficult for them. It was the only race the Milton Keynes-based squad failed to win and Verstappen is bracing for more struggles this weekend. The Dutchman said: “Our car is generally not very good on bumps and kerbs and that’s what we have here.
“We have to try and stabilise it. I am confident we can do a better job than last year, but the competition has improved quite a bit.” He even hinted that he worries he might not be able to qualify in the top 10, adding: “I’m definitely targeting Q3, but let’s see where we end up.”
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