Oscar Piastri says he and Lando Norris remain ‘free to race’ for the F1 title

SPIELBERG, Austria (AP) — Oscar Piastri says he and McLaren teammate Lando Norris are “still free to race” for the Formula 1 title after their collision at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Norris apologized after clipping Piastri’s car and hitting the wall in Canada 11 days ago. The incident ended Norris’ race but Piastri finished fourth to extend his standings lead to 22 points over Norris.

Speaking on Thursday ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Piastri dismissed suggestions that the incident might prompt a rethink of McLaren’s in-house “papaya rules” for battles between its drivers, or even that a time might be near when McLaren might favor Piastri over Norris.

The rules remain the “same as always,” Piastri said.

“What happened in Canada wasn’t ideal,” the Australian continued, “but we’re still free to race, still fighting for a championship each. We’ll keep going racing and make sure that we don’t come into contact again.”

Piastri added: “The first rule, regardless of whether it’s written down or not, is that the two cars from the same team don’t crash.”

No McLaren driver has won F1 since a young Lewis Hamilton in 2008. Defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull is Piastri’s and Norris’ closest non-McLaren challenger, 43 points off the lead.

Asked if he foresees a time when he could argue to McLaren’s leadership that he should be favored over Norris, Piastri said he didn’t want to discuss it.

While “ultimately it can only be one of us,” Piastri said, “I think the situation has to change dramatically to start having those conversations and they’re a very long way away at the moment. At the moment, all I can ask for is a fair chance to try and win the championship and that’s what I want as well. So no, I’m not willing to enter those talks at all.”

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