Nov.23 (GMM) Oscar Piastri’s title hopes are collapsing because the Australian’s troublesome run at McLaren worsened with a subdued Las Vegas race – whereas teammate Lando Norris strengthened his place as championship favorite.
Norris didn’t convert pole into victory on Saturday evening, however Piastri slipped even additional behind – with two race weekends remaining, he now trails Norris by a big 30 factors.
Off-track, issues deteriorated additional when Piastri was pressed about why he shared – and later deleted – Bernie Ecclestone’s declare that McLaren is favouring Norris for business and nationwide causes.
“I don’t know,” Piastri mentioned in Vegas. “I noticed it once I awoke this morning. Perhaps I did it by chance. It clearly wasn’t intentional. I don’t know what occurred.”
McLaren insist the ambiance between the pair stays wholesome, however joint social media content material has quietly disappeared and Spain’s Diario Sport quoted Norris as being unimpressed by the Instagram blunder.
“It’s clear issues haven’t been going properly for him recently,” Norris mentioned. “I understand how powerful that may be, however he’s crossed a line right here, which we’ll talk about internally.”
McLaren CEO Zak Brown was additionally in damage-limitation mode after feedback selling his new ebook portrayed Max Verstappen as an “conceited bully”.
In response to De Telegraaf, Brown shortly messaged the four-time world champion to make clear that the quotes have been “taken out of context”.
“I referred to as him a bruiser, a fighter – however that’s truly a praise,” Brown mentioned. “I name Ayrton Senna that as properly and he’s my favorite driver of all time.”
Talking to Sky Deutschland, Brown as a substitute centered on his personal title contender.
“I’ve by no means seen Lando in such fine condition, bodily and mentally,” he mentioned. “He’s very relaxed.
“Maybe his time away from the championship lead helped him to be the hunter as a substitute of the hunted. He’s very centered. All of that mixed with this relaxed mindset – all of it comes collectively.”
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