Follow usOscar Piastri said that McLaren team-mate Lando Norris is “certainly not out of the fight” for the world championship, despite opening up a 34-point lead after victory at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Norris had been running second behind Piastri in Zandvoort before an engine failure ended his race and handed a significant boost to the Australian’s title push.
The gap between the two is now wide enough that Norris would need to win the next five races in succession, with Piastri finishing second each time, to reclaim the lead.
“It’s a bit more difficult now, but I don’t expect much to change,” Piastri said. “We’ll race each other the same way. The amount of risk-taking will be the same. We’re both trying to be as fast as we can. It’s not like we’ve been holding anything back. So I don’t expect anything to change.”
DRIVER STANDINGS (after 15/24 rounds)
Piastri ⬅️ 34 points ➡️ Norris#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/DzBBJvu1Mj
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 31, 2025
The 24-year-old pointed to his junior career as evidence that such leads can disappear quickly.
“I’ve had a much bigger gap than this and had it pretty much erased before the final round,” he explained. “It’s still far too early to be calculating and settling for positions that aren’t first. My approach is exactly the same, and that won’t change until the gap is significantly bigger or the number of races is much smaller.”
The Italian Grand Prix this weekend will be the last European round of the season, with nine races remaining. McLaren have dominated the campaign so far, with Piastri and Norris winning 12 of the 15 races between them.
Villeneuve thinks Hamilton deliberately delayed Leclerc swap in Baku 
Max Verstappen confirmed to make GT3 debut at the Nordschleife 
McLaren boss Andrea Stella aims at improvement of pit stops for Piastri and Norris 
