Piastri writes off Verstappen's chances at the Drivers' title

14:52, 31 Jul

Updated: 16:01, 31 Jul

bySandy van Wijngaarden

Oscar Piastri has officially ruled out Max Verstappen as a contender for the world title prior to the Grand Prix of Hungary. The Australian asserts that only he and his teammate Lando Norris are still in the running.

Max Verstappen finished in fourth place in a dry race at Spa-Francorchamps due to a rain setup that he could not benefit from after the FIA delayed the start of the Belgian Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri, on the other hand, overtook his teammate on the first lap and went on to win the race.

In Hungary, the Australian was asked whether the gap with Verstappen has now become too large and whether the battle for the title will now be between the two McLaren drivers.

Piastri definitively rules out Verstappen as a contender for the title

“I mean, I suppose so. I think every weekend now it has been, or the last few weekends anyway, it's been Lando and I. I expect our competition to still be strong and put up a good fight, especially at certain tracks through the rest of the year.”

“But whether that comes from Max or Ferrari or Mercedes or someone else maybe, you know, we never really know. So, you know, I'm not too concerned about, you know, what happens in that. I'm just trying to win each race and extend the lead, but, you know, I think clearly Lando and I are in the same car, which is the best, and he's naturally going to be the close competition,” Piastri said.

Oscar Piastri

Verstappen conceded the world championship quite some time ago. However, the following the updates implemented for the Belgian Grand Prix the Austrian team will do so again for the Grand Prix of Hungary as well.

Piastri currently leads the championship with 266 points. His teammate Norris is at 250 points. Verstappen is in third place with 185 points to his name.