Piastri dismisses his chances of taking a world title
With a superb run of results coming from Oscar Piastri recently, he has closed the gap to both Max Verstappen and teammate Lando Norris in the drivers' championship standings. But does the Australian think that he has the chance to take the title?
Piastri has beaten Norris in four of the last five Grands Prix, with this impressive run also resulting in him taking six podiums in the last ten races, including two wins at the Hungarian and Azerbaijan Grands Prix.
However, a 91-point gap between Piastri and Verstappen, who sits at the top of the drivers' standings, maybe too much to overhaul with only seven races left, including three sprint weekends.
Can Piastri still challenge Verstappen for the world title?
The Australian knows that he would have to make up an average of 13 points per race to catch the Dutchman, so he knows that the title hopes are all but diminished when asked about them in Singapore on Thursday: "Honestly, not much. I think for me, maintaining the lead in the constructors championship now is by far a bigger target. I'm not out of the running for the drivers' championship, but I think now, on average, I need to score over 10 points more per weekend than Max."
The Australian continued, "I can try and go out and win every race, but it's now at the point where I need other things to start happening to win that, and for that to happen, for seven races in a row is not very realistic. Of course, I'll try and go into every weekend trying to get the best result I can. And if the picture starts to look a bit brighter, then that's a bonus. But I'm certainly under no illusion that I’m well and truly in the fight for the championship, it's more if some crazy stuff happens, then I'll be there to work my way into the fight."
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy