F1 News: No ‘numbers game’ yet for Piastri as Webber breaks silence

(GMM) Oscar Piastri’s commanding Dutch GP has given him breathing space in the title fight – with a 34-point cushion over McLaren teammate Lando Norris and just nine races to go.

From pole, the Australian led every lap, claimed fastest lap, and looked in complete control. Norris shadowed him in second until a late oil leak forced retirement, handing Piastri his most emphatic weekend yet.

It even prompted rare words from Mark Webber, Piastri’s manager and former F1 race winner, who rarely gives interviews.

“I don’t usually do interviews like this,” he told Sky Deutschland. “But it was a strong day for him. Daniel (Ricciardo), Jack (Brabham), and AJ (Alan Jones) have already won here as Australians, and now Oscar.

“I’m absolutely delighted that he’s making such progress. He’s done a lot of work.”

Webber, though, cautioned against premature celebration. “We still have a lot of races to go, so anything can happen,” he said.

“I’ll be happy to be able to tick that (title) off the list, but you have to be careful and get the points when you can. He’s also dropped a few this season.”

Piastri himself insisted he won’t play the numbers game, even though he could finish second to Norris five times in a row and still be ahead.

“Obviously it was incredibly unfortunate for Lando at the end,” he said. “But I felt like I was in control of that one and just used the pace when I needed to.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a very comfortable margin. As we saw today, it can change with one DNF very, very quickly. So this far out from the end of the year, it’s not a comfortable gap.”

Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko was impressed once again with the 24-year-old’s authority. “Piastri controlled the race at will,” he said. “Whenever Norris got too close, he increased the pace.”