Tiff Needell highlights ‘frustrating thing’ about Oscar Piastri during Singapore Grand Prix

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Lando Norris put in a dominant display throughout the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, but his teammate Oscar Piastri was noticeably absent.

Just a week prior in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri outclassed Charles Leclerc in what became a closely fought battle between the pair but neither was seen mixing it up at the front in Singapore.

Leclerc suffered a setback in qualifying when Carlos Sainz crashed and spoiled his first attempt in Q3, then when he set his second timed lap it was deleted due to track limits. Piastri also suffered a similarly difficult qualifying session, starting in fifth behind the Mercedes drivers who struggled with balance issues throughout the weekend.

The Australian had a great start and eventually finished in third after a bad strategy from Lewis Hamilton forced him to pit earlier than the leaders, but he was still 41 seconds off Norris.

Former F1 driver Tiff Needell believes Piastri’s anonymous weekend played into the hands of Verstappen in the title battle when speaking on the Lovecars on the Grid podcast.

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Oscar Piastri ‘off weekend’ was ‘frustrating’ for Lando Norris

Coming out of the weekend, Norris is now within 51 points of Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship having taken away seven points with his win.

With Piastri being off the pace, it enabled Verstappen to finish in second and crucially prevent any further damage limitation in what was otherwise a difficult weekend for Red Bull.

Needell believes the Australian should have qualified higher up the grid and given McLaren the chance to achieve a one-two, having taken away points from Norris in the previous two races.

“The frustrating thing at McLaren is that Oscar had an off weekend. If there is this dream idea of Lando taking the Drivers’ Championship, every time it’s Oscar ahead of Lando it’s ‘Oh we can’t swap you now’ and then just when you need the car, it doesn’t work,” said Needell.

McLaren backs Lando Norris for the title

Despite Piastri impressing in the last two of the last three Grands Prix, McLaren has told the Australian that he must now support Norris in the Drivers’ Championship.

McLaren held discussions after the Italian GP when both drivers came close on track during the opening corners. Piastri made a forceful move on the Briton that caused him to drop behind Leclerc, who eventually went on to win the race.

Piastri said he would be willing to help Norris where possible on track, but stopped short of admitting that he would give up a race win.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

It comes during a pivotal moment in the season as McLaren overtook Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship, which senior members within the Red Bull team have already conceded might now be a lost cause.

Red Bull is planning a big car upgrade for the next race in Austin following a three-week break, but team principal Christian Horner has cautioned that it might not bring the desired performance benefits.