Oscar Piastri has insisted that he does not “expect anything to change” in the dynamic of the Formula 1 title race, despite increasing his lead over team-mate Lando Norris.
The Australian arrives at Monza for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix 34 points ahead of his McLaren counterpart, having won last time out in Holland, with Norris retiring.
Despite Piastri holding top spot in the Drivers’ Championship since China, Norris had managed to eat away at his advantage, bringing it down to nine points before Zandvoort.
But Piastri holds a significant advantage given there are now only nine races to go, placing him firmly as the title favourite.
However, ahead of this weekend’s race at Monza, Piastri was in no mood to be complacent and denied that he may be tempted to race more aggressively.
“I don’t think so,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “I don’t think much will change. He’s certainly not out of the fight.
“Yes, it’s a bit more difficult now, but I don’t expect much to change. I think we’ll race each other the same way. I think the amount of risk-taking will be the same.
“We’re both trying to drive as fast as we can and it’s not like we’ve been holding anything back from that side of things, so I don’t expect anything to change.”
Piastri says manager Webber’s title fight experiences not relevant to him
Piastri’s manager, Mark Webber, was himself involved in a closely fought World Championship back in 2010, when driving for Red Bull alongside Sebastian Vettel.
Webber was one of five drivers mathematically capable of winning the title at the final round in Abu Dhabi, but eventually lost out to Vettel.
Asked if his approach to the title battle may have been influenced by possible discussions with Webber, Piastri responded by saying that his experiences hold little bearing for him.
“Virtually none, I would say,” he replied. “I think for me, a lot of it is from, in some ways, personal experiences in championships, but also just how I think as a person.
“For me, it’s just how I’ve always tried to go racing. Trying to be taking the opportunities when they come and obviously not taking too many risks and the risk attitude.
“Five races ago, you didn’t know the championship picture was going to look like this, and if you took a different amount of risk either way, then the gap is going to be potentially smaller than what it is.
“It could potentially be bigger, but I like to think that my approach to risk is pretty measured.
“For me, that doesn’t really change regardless of the championship situation.”
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