Oscar Piastri knows consistency alone won’t cut it in his title fight with Lando Norris, warning he can’t “afford to sit back” if he wants to stay ahead in Formula 1 this season.
The Australian may lead the Drivers’ Championship by 16 points, but with team-mate Norris in the same race-winning machinery, he knows the fight is far from over.
He delivered a superb victory at Spa-Francorchamps to lead home a McLaren 1–2 in the Belgian Grand Prix — bouncing back after losing out to Max Verstappen in the Sprint and being outqualified by Norris for the main race.
A decisive move at the start set the tone, and from there, Piastri barely put a foot wrong as he held off Norris to claim his sixth win of the season — the most of any driver so far this season.
Though he hadn’t stood on the top step since Spain, Piastri has remained relentlessly consistent — finishing no lower than fourth since the season opener in Australia and racking up 11 podiums, level with his team-mate.
Still, he believes consistency alone won’t be enough in a title fight this tight — insisting that playing it safe simply isn’t an option if he wants to come out on top.
Asked whether being the fastest or the most mistake-free will matter more in the title race, Piastri made it clear both are essential.
“Both, ideally – I mean, you can make an argument for either one,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“You can be consistent, but if you’re consistently coming second, then that’s not very useful for you.
“So you do need to have both, and the level of the field and the level of my team-mate, you need to bring your best.
“Inevitably, when you’re pushing that hard, there are going to be mistakes here and there because it doesn’t come without risk.
“But you can’t just afford to take things easy and try and be consistent. You need to be consistent. You need both to win the championship – you can’t just rely on one.”
Piastri on what will decide the title battle with Norris
With the margins between Piastri and Norris fluctuating across race weekends — most notably at Spa, where Piastri was beaten in qualifying but hit back in the Grand Prix — the question now is what will ultimately separate them in the title fight.
As the pressure ramps up heading into the final stretch of the season, Piastri was asked what he thinks will define who comes out on top: “Honestly, it’s a very similar answer.
“The way you win races at the back end of the season is the same way as at the start of the season.
“You need to be faster than everyone around you and you need to make the least mistakes possible.
“So that aspect doesn’t really change. It’s great to be consistent, but if you’re consistently being beaten as well, then that’s not a recipe for a championship.
“So it’s a balancing act of both. It doesn’t have to be a balancing act. Obviously, if you’re a robot, you’d be able to be as fast as humanly possible or as possible and make zero mistakes.
“But we’re all humans, so that’s not possible. I think there is going to be an element of minimising mistakes.
“But like I said, you need to be fast at the same time and you can’t afford to sit back, because I think if you try to take that approach, then you’ll end up being beaten.”
With an 81-point cushion over Verstappen in third, the championship has, for some time now, shaped into a clear head-to-head between the two McLaren teammates.
Piastri agreed, but acknowledged that threats could still emerge elsewhere as the season unfolds.
“I expect our competition to still be strong and put up a good fight, especially at certain tracks through the rest of the year,” he said.
“But whether that comes from Max or Ferrari or Mercedes or someone else, maybe, we never really know.
“I’m not too concerned about what happens in that. I’m just trying to win each race and extend the lead.
“But I think clearly Lando and I are in the same car, which is the best. And he’s naturally going to be the closest competition.”
READ MORE – Where McLaren thinks Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri F1 title battle will be decided
