Lando Norris warned that disgruntled Oscar Piastri will ‘trip him up’ if he gets a chance at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Follow us on Google Discover

Oscar Piastri’s chances of winning the Formula 1 world championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix are slim. Even if he wins the race, Lando Norris will only need to finish in the top five to beat him.

Norris has only missed out on the top five three times in 23 races this season. He crashed out after tagging Piastri in Canada, suffered a chassis failure at the Dutch GP and then came home seventh in a jumbled-up Azerbaijan GP.

That’s what Piastri needs this weekend: a Norris error, a mechanical failure on the other side of the garage, or an injection of chaos. But as it stands, Max Verstappen would be the main beneficiary.

Oscar Piastri could become the first F1 driver to finish third in a championship with five or more wins

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

Piastri was 34 points clear after Norris’ Zandvoort retirement, but is now on course to finish third in the world championship.

Matteo Bobbi claims Oscar Piastri could deliberately hurt Lando Norris’ title bid

Speaking to Sky Italia, Matteo Bobbi suggested that Piastri is feeling ‘dissatisfied’ with McLaren ahead of the season finale. The team arguably cost him a win in Qatar by deciding not to call him in from the lead during an early safety-car period.

Piastri has also been on the wrong end of controversial McLaren team orders in Australia, Italy and Singapore. Now, Bobbi thinks he will do ‘everything he can’ to stop Norris becoming champion at Yas Marina.

McLaren are not planning to favour Norris this weekend given that Piastri is still in mathematical contention. But that could change depending on the scenario during the race.

“I’ll say something strong: Norris’s biggest rival in Abu Dhabi is Piastri,” Bobbi, a former test driver for Minardi, said. “Oscar lost the championship in Qatar and will do everything he can to prevent his teammate from winning it.

“Too many things happened during the year that have left him dissatisfied: if he gets the chance to trip him up, he’ll do it.”

Martin Brundle thought Oscar Piastri looked ‘broken’

While some of McLaren’s decisions have clearly frustrated Piastri, he has always complied. The 24-year-old has done nothing to suggest he would actively try to hamper Norris, but Bobbi’s remarks reflect the perceived strain in his relationship with the team.

Even before the Qatar GP, veteran journalist Michael Schmidt was reporting that Piastri had lost confidence in McLaren. If true, one can only imagine the impact of the Lusail mishap.

Martin Brundle says Piastri looked ‘broken’ after the race when they spoke in parc ferme. He was on course for a perfect weekend in Qatar that would have revived his title ambitions, but now they’re more distant than ever.