‘I’m not going to give Norris a ‘blank cheque’ in his title fight’

Since the Hungarian GP, ​​the balance between McLaren’s two drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, has come to the fore – and that’s because the McLaren MCL38 was transformed over the summer into the sport’s premier car, but also fact that in only his second season in F1 the flamboyant Aussie is able to win races and be just as fast as his much more experienced British counterpart.

However, with 6 GPs and 3 Sprints to go this year, it is Norris who holds the best chance of the title – as he trails championship leader Verstappen by 52 points, compared to Piastri’s 94 points adrift .

Consequently, it is now very likely that Norris will need Piastri to give him his place, even if it is for victory, in his attempt to close the gap from the Dutch driver of Red Bull Racing.

But, said Piastri, “If I only think about myself, I don’t like the orders of the team against me. No driver likes that. You have your pride, you want to show that you are the fastest driver on the track.

Still, I will help Lando in the final fights if asked. He has the most realistic chance of winning the title. But this is not a ‘blank cheque’. It has to make sense to let him pass me”added the Australian speaking to the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport.

Piastri focused more on McLaren’s bid to win a first teams’ title since 1998: “We also want to win the constructors’ championship at the same time, and sacrificing my race to help Lando won’t help us achieve that goal. So, we will decide according to the situation in each match”the 23-year-old continued.

And he concluded: “The team wants to win both championships. If you get the chance to make it, you can’t let it go. The match in Baku showed how we do things in McLaren. If Lando hadn’t cut Perez off after the first pit stop, I might not have won. He has a share in my victory.”