In recent months, McLaren’s ambitions have gone from being a simple dream to what could be a concrete possibility of seeing the Woking team triumph at the end of the year. If the constructors’ championship actually seems an achievable goal, with Red Bull only thirty points away, the matter is much more complex when it comes to the drivers’ standings.
At the moment, Max Verstappen is at the top of the championship, with a 70-point advantage over Lando Norris, who has seen several opportunities to significantly reduce the gap slip away during the championship. With nine more events to go, including three sprints, the fight is still open, but it is logical that Norris will need not only to win as many races as possible, but also a bit of luck and all the help he can get from McLaren itself.
Oscar Piastri has already shown that he can be a thorn in the side of the British driver’s ambitions, as seen for example in Hungary, but there are several races in which the Australian has beaten or could have beaten his teammate.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38
Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images
For this reason, there has also been discussion about the opportunity for Piastri himself to support Norris in the fight for the title, especially considering that there are fewer and fewer events left on the calendar to recover and every point could prove to be fundamental. However, at the moment the Australian has no doubts: for him the priority is to continue trying to win Grand Prix, especially to ensure that McLaren triumphs in the constructors’ championship, the goal truly within the team’s reach.
“I think I will continue to approach each weekend with the goal of trying to win races. We are still behind in the constructors’ championship and we want to make sure we win. My best contribution to that goal is to try to win races,” Piastri said on the eve of the Italian Grand Prix, stressing that, at the moment, the gap between the top two in the standings is still too big.
“I think the gap between Lando and Max is still very big and even for me it is still bigger than Max, but it is not impossible. So, yes, we will evaluate case by case each weekend. Of course, if the gap closes significantly and I am no longer involved in the title fight, then I am aware that I could be called upon to help out.”
“But I think with the gap that there is at the moment, it’s still very, very early to do that. And ultimately, I also want to try to win races. But I know that if I’m called upon, I’ll be happy to help,” added the McLaren driver, who is currently still focused on bringing home the best possible result.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
The first goal will be to do a good qualifying and not get stuck in traffic like in Holland because, on a clear track, the Australian had shown to have an excellent pace. However, given the not exactly high top speeds of the McLaren, overtaking Mercedes and Ferrari proved more complicated than expected, thus having to settle for a fourth place that made no one happy.
Monza will feature completely revised low-downforce wings and, according to Piastri, the situation could change compared to the one seen in Zandvoort, despite the package of innovations brought by McLaren to the last race. The idea is that Red Bull could return to being closer, a bit like seen in Spa, but Piastri does not underestimate Mercedes and Ferrari either: “I don’t think it will be like Zandvoort. I expect Red Bull to be a bit stronger, but I expect Mercedes and especially Ferrari to be much stronger. I think that on Sunday in Zandvoort Ferrari surprised a lot of people, including themselves, with their competitiveness”.
“I’ve heard that they’ve made some updates here and that it’s traditionally a track where they’ve been very strong and has similar characteristics to other places where they’ve been fast. So I expect them to be at the front. I think it’s going to be very close.”
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