Oscar Piastri has stated that both he and team mate Lando Norris will arrive into the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend on a “clean slate”, with the repercussions previously given to Norris for contact in Singapore now removed while Piastri has taken a “degree of responsibility” for their first-lap collision in the Austin Sprint.
It was a tough outing for McLaren last time out at the Circuit of The Americas, having recorded a double DNF in Saturday’s Sprint following a Turn 1 melee on Lap 1 of Saturday’s Sprint that eliminated both Norris and Piastri.
Sunday went on to be another tricky day for Piastri, the Australian crossing the line in P5, while Norris ended the race in P2 behind winner Max Verstappen. This has reduced Piastri’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship to just 14 points from Norris and 40 from Verstappen in third.
When asked if the team had reviewed what happened on Saturday at the United States Grand Prix, Piastri explained: “We’ve gone through it again – we go through every weekend, regardless of what’s happened.
“I think 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.”
Pushed on whether this meant that the repercussions previously given to Norris after the Singapore incident had now been removed – as well as being asked if taking some of the responsibility himself for the Austin Sprint moment was owing to the aggressiveness of the move – Piastri continued: “Yes, the consequences on Lando’s side have been removed, and yes, ultimately it was that.
“There were a lot of factors involved, but ultimately that’s what’s been decided.”
McLaren have been open about their use of ‘papaya rules’ and, when quizzed on whether the rules of engagement for himself and Norris were adding any extra pressure to the title fight, Piastri denied that this was the case.
“Not necessarily, no,” he answered. “For us it’s pretty clear what those rules are, which is don’t crash into each other, but I think regardless of what scenario you’re in that’s how you’re expected to race as team mates, so I don’t think that adds any pressure into the scenario.”
As for Verstappen’s role in the championship battle – with the Dutchman declaring after his victory in Austin that “the chance is there” for him to claim a fifth consecutive title – Piastri insisted that he is not giving much thought to any concerns about how quickly the Red Bull driver has gotten himself back into the fight.
“It’s not really something I think about,” the 24-year-old said. “He has been very consistent in the last few weekends and been strong as well – there’s no denying that. But there’s no benefit for me in worrying about that or focusing on that.
“The thing that’s going to help me to win this championship is trying to get the most out of myself, the most out of the car, the most out of the team around me, and worrying about anyone else on the grid is not focusing on that. He’s there, he’s in the fight, but ultimately that doesn’t change how I’m going to approach my racing.”
Looking ahead to the weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Piastri conceded that it is “difficult to know” how close McLaren and Red Bull will be.
“The form card and where we think we will be strong, or where we thought others would be strong, has not always lined up perfectly, which has often been the case with this generation of cars,” the championship leader explained.
“Clearly over the last few race weekends, Red Bull and Max have certainly found consistency more than anything – there were flashes of that kind of performance earlier in the season, but I think the last few weekends it’s been very consistent.
“I’m sure that they’re going to be a threat again this weekend, and we’ll try our best to get the most out of our car and see where we end up.”
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