Piastri: ‘He’s come to the fight quicker than I expected’
Verstappen feels ‘positive pressure’ in chasing leaders
Oscar Piastri has admitted that the late charge into a tense, three-way Formula One title fight by the defending champion, Max Verstappen, has taken him by surprise, a position echoed by the Dutchman.
The Australian also confirmed that he and his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, go into this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix with a “clean slate”, free to race one another as the pair battle with Verstappen.
Norris trails Piastri by just 14 points with five meetings remaining but Verstappen, who was 104 points off after the Dutch Grand Prix in August, has won three of the last four races and is now only 40 points off the lead. After his comprehensive victory at the last round in Austin, Verstappen acknowledged that he was well and truly back in the contest.
