Oscar Piastri offers Red Bull encouragement with F1 star unconvinced by what he’s seen at McLaren

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McLaren have improved massively over the 2024 Formula 1 season and are leading the Constructors’ Championship with six rounds to go.

The British team lead the standings by 41 points over their nearest rival Red Bull, who have stumbled over the past few months.

McLaren have had the quickest car at some races, including at the Singapore Grand Prix when Lando Norris took victory by 20 seconds.

They also have two drivers capable of competing at the front of the field consistently, as Norris and his teammate Oscar Piastri have won multiple races this year.

But despite their good form and formidable driver line-up, Piastri isn’t completely convinced that either championship is wrapped up.

Piastri explained when speaking on The Fast and The Curious podcast that he feels both title battles are nowhere near over heading into the United States Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri doesn’t feel ‘either championship is sewn up’ in F1

There are six rounds including three Sprint races left in the world championship, meaning there are a lot of points still to play for.

Norris is 52 points behind the championship leader Max Verstappen, which leaves the British driver with very little margin for error.

He has also made minimal gains into the Red Bull driver’s lead, despite the McLaren star’s upturn in form over the past few races.

Despite McLaren’s significant advantage over Red Bull, Piastri is not convinced his team are the clear favourite to win the Constructors’ Championship.

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He is yet to see enough to think the team can comfortably clinch their first Constructors’ Championship since 1998.

Piastri explained: “The first big [aim] is to try and win the Constructors’ Championship. [We have] got a nice little lead now. The aim is to just try and extend that as much as we can, pretty much.

“And, naturally, if we’re doing that, then there’s a good chance that Lando and I are also making our way up the driver’s standings, too. We’ll see what happens. If there’s opportunities for me to win races, then I’ll try and take them.

“If not, then I’ll try and score as many points for the team as I can and help out where I can. But I don’t think either championship is sewn up, definitely. Hopefully, we sew up the Constructors’ Championship sooner rather than later. But I think it’s going to be an exciting six races.”

Oscar Piastri has been very impressive during his second Formula 1 season

Piastri has been ice-cool and dealt with the added pressure of racing at the front of the field during the Australian driver’s second season in F1, taking his first Grand Prix win at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Piastri has impressed his engineer Tom Stallard with his leadership off the track at McLaren, too, as he galvanises the team.

His second-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix was also a statement, passing teammate Norris around the outside at Variante della Roggia on the opening lap for the lead.

Piastri has some deficiencies in qualifying but he makes very few mistakes over a race distance, keeping cool under pressure. His composure will be key if McLaren cannot run away with the Constructors’ Championship in the final rounds.