Las Vegas: Piastri’s Independence, With Limits

Oscar Piastri regains autonomy to race freely for McLaren, though “specific scenarios” in Las Vegas may still enforce team strategies.

Oscar Piastri does not believe McLaren F1 will be the favorite team in Las Vegas, but he hopes to play a bigger role in the fight for victory than in 2023. The Australian still needs to adapt to a track he has not experienced since last year.

“I think Ferrari will be strong, especially here,” said Piastri. “It’s a track that, on paper, should suit them well. I hope we’ll be better than last year, and I’d rather be in our position in the championship than in Ferrari’s. I’m hoping for a good weekend here, and the next two should be good as well.”

“It’s a unique weekend for several reasons, but the track stands out. There are a lot of straights, it’s cold, there’s low grip, and I haven’t seen the track since last year, apart from a marketing event yesterday. It looked shiny and dusty, so grip probably won’t be great.”

Asked about no longer playing the role of number two to Lando Norris, given the latter’s significantly reduced championship hopes after Brazil, Piastri acknowledged that McLaren’s priority remains the Constructors’ Championship.

“We’re largely focused on the Constructors’ Championship; the chances in the Drivers’ Championship are very slim. I’m free to qualify as well as I can and race for myself, but if there are specific scenarios, I’ll help. However, in the vast majority of situations, we’re back to the original setup.”

“The chances of winning the Drivers’ Championship are very slim, and the Constructors’ Championship is certainly not over for us. It’s definitely not a done deal, so it remains the most important thing.”

The Australian driver is pleased to have his chances of victories fully restored and does not regret McLaren’s decision to ask him to yield the Sprint win to Norris in Brazil.

“Being able to return to McLaren’s preferred approach of ‘two number-one drivers’ is great, but I wasn’t too bothered by my sacrifice in São Paulo. To be honest, I wasn’t that disappointed about giving up the Sprint victory. Of course, I would have liked to win the Sprint, but it’s a very different scenario from a Grand Prix.”

“I proved what I wanted to prove by qualifying on pole, and that was just for myself. Qualifying on pole for the Sprint, even if I had won the Sprint, being on pole was probably the most satisfying part for me.”

“I knew I had done the right things in the Sprint, and that’s what matters to me. I’m glad we don’t have to resort to those kinds of arrangements as often anymore.”

“And obviously next year, I want to make sure I’m not in a position, in terms of the championship, where I’d be subject to that. But realistically, I probably needed to help at that moment in Brazil, and that’s it. So, there’s been a lot of talk for very little action on track.”