Martin Brundle laughs at Oscar Piastri’s ‘nonsense’ title race statement at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

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Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris were asked before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix what it would mean to win the world championship.

Norris leads the standings by 12 points ahead of Verstappen, which means he only needs to finish on the podium to win his first title.

“This has been my whole life,” Norris said in a special press conference featuring the three drivers on Thursday. “It’s everything I’ve worked towards my whole life. So, it would mean the world to me.”

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

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Verstappen, his main competitor, became a champion at this event in 2021 and has held onto the trophy since. But he reiterated that winning this year would be a ‘bonus’, particularly as he was once 104 points back.

And while Piastri says it would be ‘a very cool achievement’, he insists he would ‘move on pretty quick’, with testing for the 2026 season due to begin in late January.

Martin Brundle says Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen care far more than they’re letting on

Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle reacted to these comments before the opening practice session in Abu Dhabi. He thinks Piastri and Verstappen were ‘playing mind games’ by projecting a carefree image.

Piastri, who has previously won the F2 and F3 titles, is the least experienced contender. This is his third season in F1 and only his 70th start.

After he won the Dutch GP in August, Piastri was 34 points clear of Norris. His season has rather unravelled since.

“It was a massive competition as to who could demonstrate how little it would mean to each of them to win the world championship,” Brundle laughed. “What a complete load of nonsense! They’re all desperate to win.

“We know how angry Max gets when things don’t go his way, and of course, the McLaren boys have had one hand reaching out to that trophy through certain phases of this season. That’s just the mind games, sitting there all together.”

The real reason Oscar Piastri was blasé about winning the F1 title

Piastri knows that his chances this weekend are very slim. Even if he wins, he needs Norris to finish outside the top five.

That has only happened three times this season – twice due to DNFs. In Azerbaijan, Norris was seventh and Piastri crashed out.

Indeed, the Dutch GP is the only race where Piastri has outscored his teammate by the requisite margin.

Given his outsider status, Piastri could face team orders on Sunday if he is running ahead of Norris and Verstappen is in position to win the title.