A chance to win the championship may have slipped away for Oscar Piastri, but the McLaren star is not going to let his season be hindered further by external noise as he prepares to race in the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
In a matter of months, the championship race has endured countless twists and turns, with Max Verstappen emerging as an outside contender. At the same time, Lando Norris dethroned his Australian teammate to position himself on top of the standings.
It has been almost two months since Piastri was last seen on the podium, with his last race win coming in Zandvoort. As for Norris, he has stood on the podium in four of the five races that Piastri has fallen short in.
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The large deficit between the pair is one that many did not expect, given Piastri was over 30 points ahead at one stage. However, the gap leaves the possibility of a season finale championship fight in Abu Dhabi on the cards.
While the championship title is appealing, Piastri has limited his focus to simply delivering the best performances he can for the rest of the season.
“It’s never the nicest feeling to see your lead disappear,” said Piastri.
Oscar Piastri walks in the pitlane. Â Formula 1 via Getty Images
“But for me, the only thing you can focus on is what is ahead.
“I can’t go back and change any of the things that have happened this year. All I can do to try and give myself the best chance is focus on the next race.
“It’s obviously not been the easiest run for differing reasons in the last few races, but the only thing I can do is try to figure out how I’m going to be the best I can here in Vegas.
“I feel like we’ve prepared well. It’s not been necessarily the easiest track for us as a team, but I feel like we’ve got some good ideas and good learnings from our last couple of races here that we can put into action.”
A series of ‘papaya rules’ calls have divided the F1 world in recent weeks, especially the team’s order to allow Norris to pass him at the Italian GP.
At the time, Piastri claimed he did not deserve to finish ahead of Norris, but it did see him lose crucial points in the title race.
It has also been confirmed that Piastri will sit out of practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix so that he fulfils his mandatory rookie practice requirement.
That time away from the track will be a significant benefit for Norris and Verstappen, who will have an extra hour to adjust to the track.
But those concerns do not explain Piastri’s recent drop in speed.
“I have no explanation for that to be honest,” Verstappen, a four-time world champion, said when asked about Piastri.
“I find it very bizarre. I didn’t expect it to go like this, although at the end of the day it’s not really my problem.”
Oscar Piastri (R) speaks with Max Verstappen (L). LAT Images
Piastri is not letting the noise around the topic get to him.
“I think for me, it’s more been that the last few races have been difficult,” the 24-year-old Melburnian said.
“There’s been different reasons for all that, but I think in terms of the way I’ve gone about racing and the way the team has supported me and the way we set up the car … that has been identical through the whole season.
“There’s been some tough lessons to learn, some tough moments to have to accept and nothing more than that.”