For Norris, second place will suffice. The driver from Bristol will be named the 2025 F1 world champion if he crosses the line in the position he starts from on Sunday. Piastri, though, needs chaos to unfold ahead of him if he is to complete an unlikely turnaround and win the Drivers’ Championship title.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 about his plans for the Grand Prix, Piastri explained: “Obviously, to try to win the championship, I need more than to just win the race. We’ll see what that entails.”
Asked whether or not this could mean sitting back and hoping his two title rivals tangle in front of him, he replied with a wry smile: “It could do! We’ll see how it gets played. Until either Max or Lando cross the line ahead of me, then I’m still in the running.”
Piastri will have plenty to think about when he returns to his hotel this evening, but so will his team-mate. Norris knows that he can finish third and still win the crown, but if he falls any lower, he’ll need Verstappen to be dethroned from the race lead to stay in P1. This creates an uncomfortable situation for him if Piastri goes on the attack at the start of the race.
“There’s no point thinking about it too much,” he stated after pipping his team-mate to second place. “I’ll go and sit with my guys and girls and see how we can best prepare for every eventuality, but the goal is still to try to win the race tomorrow. That’s still our mindset.
“It’s definitely not going to be a simple one, by any means – it might be the most complicated race I might have. But the mindset is still, ‘How can we win the race?’ And that is going to be the approach. I don’t need to take any risks, and hopefully I can use that to my advantage.”