Max Verstappen has taken a whopping 64 points out of his World Championship lead over recent races, but Oscar Piastri remains confident that the balance of power will turn in his favour over the remaining races.
He may have endured a run of misfortune, but as he notes a 40-point advantage is a useful cushion, and Verstappen still has a lot of work to do.
F1 seasons tend to see an ebb of flow of both form and sheer good or bad fortune, and a campaign of total dominance like that of Verstappen in 2023 is rare – especially given how hard it is to get everything right over what is now 24 events, and with sprints included, 30 races.
A couple of clean weekends could give Piastri back the title winning momentum, and the challenge now is to join the dots rediscover the recipe that worked so well just a few weeks ago.
Austin was tricky for the Australian, and a frustrating qualifying session that saw him lacking a little pace and only P6 left him with a difficult Sunday afternoon.
He gained a spot from George Russell at the start, but thereafter there was nothing he could to improve on fifth .
“I was certainly trying my best to get any more spots if I could, but just didn’t have the pace to do anything,” he said when I asked if his race was about damage limitation. “It was trying a lot of different things, and trying to find some pace. But it was either the same pace or slower when I tried different things. So some things to try and understand.
“The balance was quite different to what I expected at the beginning of the race. And I think naturally, as the rears went away, it kind of came back to me a little bit, but the pace never really came with the balance change.”
Austin was clearly a difficult weekend for Piastri and the timing in terms of the title battle was unfortunate.
However at the sharp end of the grid it’s not easy to get it right every time, and just a few events ago it was Verstappen who was regularly left frustrated at he tried to optimise his car.
“I’ve not felt particularly comfortable the whole weekend,” said Piastri. “So definitely some things to try and understand. But I feel like with the pace I had this weekend, I did the most that I could. Qualifying was clean at least, and the race was clean, and I made up a spot. So with the pace I’ve had, that’s ultimately, all I can really ask for the moment.”
Why Austin in particular was so tricky is what Piastri now has to dig into with his team, and ensure that lessons are learned for upcoming tracks. One possibility is that McLaren’s strength on medium-speed corners was less useful at COTA.
“I don’t have any great ideas at the moment,” he said. “Qualifying was clean from my side, just the pace wasn’t there. And honestly, a pretty similar story in the race. I think this layout is quite interesting, in there’s a lot of very high-speed corners with a lot of ride content. There’s a lot of very low-speed corners. So you need to be good at both ends of the spectrum.
“And actually, there’s not a whole lot in that medium speed range. There’s a few, but there’s more outside of that range. I think also for me, it’s not been a particularly happy hunting ground my whole F1 career. In some ways, I can’t say I’m shocked that this has been a tough weekend.”
Inevitably Piastri now faces questions on how much pressure Verstappen is putting on him, but he’s quick to downplay that suggestion.
“He’s obviously there, and he’s quick,” he said. “But I think for me, the biggest focus is just trying to work out why this weekend was tough, and try and get back on the form we’ve had earlier in the season. So that’s my biggest focus. And if we can find that again, then the results will take care of themselves.”
Regarding the bigger picture of the title battle with both the Dutchman and his own team mate he said: “I’d still rather be where I am than the other two! But obviously this weekend has not been what I wanted, or what I expected. This weekend has been quite different to the previous couple.
“Baku was obviously a bit of a disaster for very different reasons, and Singapore was what it was. So I think this weekend has been kind of the odd one out compared to others. Definitely Max and Red Bull have found a lot of pace since the summer break as well. And we saw flashes of it at the start of the year, but it’s been consistent since Zandvoort.
“He’s obviously had a good run in the last few races. But ultimately, if we can find our way again, find our pace, and certainly for me, find the pace again, then I don’t have any major concerns.
“Still a long way to go in the championship. He’s obviously chased it down pretty quick, but it’s not exactly a small gap with five rounds to go. So I think if we can find our pace again then things take care of themselves.”
He remains confident that it will all come together in his favour,
“I’ve been in fights that were as close, or at this point, even closer than what they are now,” he said. “So I’ve got the evidence for myself that things can still turn out well, and I still fully believe that I can win the championship.
“This weekend has obviously been tough, and the gap has come down a little bit in the last few weekends. But again, performance is what’s going to win you a championship, not just looking at points and seeing if you can increase it or decrease it. The faster you go, the more points you’re going to score.”
Adam Cooper F1 