OSCAR PIASTRI declared victory in Shanghai the start of his title charge as he warned Lando Norris he will not go down without a fight.
Norris survived failing brakes to finish second and secure McLaren's 50th one-two finish in F1, retaining his place at the top of the standings.
But Aussie Piastri proved he will be a tough obstacle for his team-mate with a confident and assured win from pole. Asked if his third career Grand Prix victory was the start of his title campaign, he smiled and said: "I hope so!" Piastri is 10 points behind Norris and the gap would have been much smaller had he not slipped off track while chasing the win in Melbourne a week ago.
He added: "It's amazing how things change in a week. It has been a great weekend all round. It hasn't been as straightforward as Australia. It's been difficult but we did a good job of turning the car around.
"It has clearly been fast, I'm not putting that up for question but we had to make it easier to get a handle on and we did a really good job.
"I feel like I've had a strong weekend personally as well." Norris rued that he never got the chance to pile the pressure on his team-mate at the end. Instead he was more concerned with finishing the race when McLaren warned him late on that his brakes were getting worse. He said: "The last five, six, seven, eight laps were pretty hor...
Norris survived failing brakes to finish second and secure McLaren's 50th one-two finish in F1, retaining his place at the top of the standings.
But Aussie Piastri proved he will be a tough obstacle for his team-mate with a confident and assured win from pole. Asked if his third career Grand Prix victory was the start of his title campaign, he smiled and said: "I hope so!" Piastri is 10 points behind Norris and the gap would have been much smaller had he not slipped off track while chasing the win in Melbourne a week ago.
He added: "It's amazing how things change in a week. It has been a great weekend all round. It hasn't been as straightforward as Australia. It's been difficult but we did a good job of turning the car around.
"It has clearly been fast, I'm not putting that up for question but we had to make it easier to get a handle on and we did a really good job.
"I feel like I've had a strong weekend personally as well." Norris rued that he never got the chance to pile the pressure on his team-mate at the end. Instead he was more concerned with finishing the race when McLaren warned him late on that his brakes were getting worse. He said: "The last five, six, seven, eight laps were pretty hor...
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Daily Record (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 24, 2025