Oscar Piastri clawed back two valuable points on Formula 1 title rival Lando Norris with victory in a sprint race which left Max Verstappen clinging on to contention.
— Oscar Piastri clawed back two valuable points on Formula 1 title rival Lando Norris with victory in a sprint race which left Max Verstappen clinging on to contention.
Championship leader Norris — who can wrap up the title this weekend — settled for third behind Mercedes’ George Russell in a tense race which saw F1’s other contender, Max Verstappen, finish one place back in fourth position.
Third place was not a disaster for Norris’ title bid and he will be world champion if he wins Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix.
With eight points handed out to the top eight finishers in F1’s sprint races Piastri heads into qualifying for that event, the penultimate round of the year, 22 points behind Norris, with Verstappen now 25 points behind the Englishman with 50 left to play for over the next two Sundays.
Verstappen spent the first eight laps of the 19-lap event within a second of Norris, meaning he had use of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) overtaking aid down the straight to get closer, but never looked to have a legitimate chance of forcing an overtake.
