Sebastian Vettel tells Oscar Piastri what he needs to do to beat Lando Norris in the F1 championship

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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is watching his opportunity to win a first Formula 1 drivers’ championship slip through his fingers.

Oscar Piastri was leading the drivers’ championship by 34 points from Lando Norris after winning the Dutch Grand Prix.

However, the McLaren driver is on a run of four race weekends without a podium finish, and has given up his lead in the standings as a result.

Norris’ victory in Mexico City gave him a one-point advantage over his teammate, and the Sprint Race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix couldn’t have gone any better for the British driver.

The Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint was won by Norris, with Piastri crashing out at turn three after hitting a patch of water surfaced by his McLaren teammate going slightly off-line.

Piastri knows he needs to put pressure on Norris, but that’s becoming more and more difficult to achieve.

One man whom the Australian might be looking to for inspiration is four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel has now told Piastri the ‘first’ thing he needs to do to get back on track and keep the pressure on Norris with just a handful of races to go.

READ MORE: 2025 F1 Brazilian Grand Prix race, sprint and qualifying times, how to watch and Sao Paulo weather

Sebastian Vettel tells Oscar Piastri he needs ‘peace and quiet’ after Brazilian Grand Prix crash

Vettel has been at Interlagos all weekend and was speaking on Sky Sports Germany’s coverage on Saturday.

Asked about Piastri’s title ambitions, Vettel said: “First of all, he needs some peace and quiet.

“I don’t think he needs anyone to explain to him what went wrong; he knows that himself.

“What we all need in a situation like this is someone who is there for us and stands by us. He has the people in his team.

“He needs them now, so that he can move on quickly and get back to driving freely again if possible.”

The gap between Norris and Piastri has now grown to nine points ahead of Sunday’s race, where the British driver has the advantage after qualifying.

Martin Brundle admitted he had sympathy for Piastri after his crash, but he now needs to put in a potentially career-defining performance in Brazil to put his title challenge back on track.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

Oscar Piastri laments ‘tricky conditions’ after Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint crash

Speaking in his official post-qualifying media session in Brazil, the 24-year-old said: “Not quite the day I was looking for. There were very tricky conditions in both the Sprint and Quali, and we didn’t know how the grip was going to be.

“Unfortunately, I’ve paid the price for that. The car’s been quick all weekend, so hopefully we can take advantage of it tomorrow and finish at the top.”

Qualifying on Saturday was extremely tight, with third and ninth only separated by a tenth of a second.

Piastri will start the race from fourth after Norris secured the 15th pole position of his Formula 1 career.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc separate the two McLaren drivers and could play a crucial role in the championship.

Piastri will hope he can quickly find a way past both drivers to keep his championship challenge alive.