With almost an entire Grand Prix to make up, the Australian would only need to finish behind his teammate in Losail to be knocked out of the title fight.

Asked whether this puts extra pressure on him for the weekend, Piastri told GPblog: “Not necessarily. Every weekend you try to get the best result you can, and whether that's round one or round 23, that's the same mentality.”

The Australian is aware that things are no longer fully under his control, and the only thing he can do now is deliver the best possible result to push all championship talk to Abu Dhabi.

With just two races remaining and Norris clearly the favorite for the title — though Max Verstappen remains a looming threat — it’s natural to assume the driver set to be sacrificed for the grand finale is the Australian.

Piastri led the Drivers’ Championship for almost the entire season, only to fall into an unusual slump from Monza onwards, eventually losing the lead in Mexico and dropping further points in Brazil and Las Vegas.

is his new role to support his teammate in the title fight as a number-two driver? Here’s what McLaren has decided.