Verstappen praises Piastri's approach to title challenge

Max Verstappen says Oscar Piastri is showing the right approach to fight for the drivers’ championship this season, after taking the lead in the standings ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.

Piastri was battling for the win at his home race in Melbourne to start the season when he slid off the track in wet conditions, eventually rejoining to finish ninth. With Lando Norris winning in Australia, Piastri was already 23 points behind his teammate but three wins in the next four races have seen him take the lead, beating Verstappen in Saudi Arabia as part of a run that has impressed the defending champion.

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“People forget a little bit – last year was his second year,” Verstappen said. “Now he’s in his third year, and he’s very solid. He’s very calm in his approach, and I like that. It shows on track. He delivers when he has to, barely makes mistakes – and that’s what you need when you want to fight for a championship.

“I think with Mark [Webber] by his side, he’s helping him a lot. It’s great. People learn from their own careers – that’s what I had with my dad, and Mark is advising Oscar. At the end of the day, Oscar is using his talent, and that’s great to see.”

Verstappen’s win in Suzuka is the only non-McLaren victory of the season so far, with his second place in Jeddah leaving him 12 points adrift of Piastri and two behind Norris in the standings. The Dutchman says he needs a better balance from his Red Bull to be able to consistently challenge at every circuit, after fluctuating form throughout the recent triple header.

“I think we need to find more overall performance, balance especially, and of course consistency. We are not good at every track. That's quite clear. Bahrain, we were lacking a lot. [Saudi Arabia], for sure, it was a lot better. But it's also very low deg and then more cars come alive.

“So we still have work to do, but at least it's a promising result. Overall, it's been a promising weekend, at the end of the day. We really managed to find a good balance or a decent balance, and that's positive for us.”