McLaren is adding more complexity to its situation.

      Vettel calls for ‘peace and quiet’ for struggling Piastri

      Oscar Piastri’s championship opportunity seems to be slipping away, as momentum—despite Lando Norris denying its existence—definitely shifts towards his McLaren teammate. Following a perfect weekend in Brazil, where Norris increased his lead to 24 points, the championship leader told RTBF that he is keeping his feet on the ground. "I don’t believe in momentum," he stated. "But it was a fantastic weekend for me. I was able to make the most of every session, and I’m very pleased—the whole team did well. However, I’m heading home, going to sleep, and I’ll put this behind me to focus on Las Vegas."

      Once seen as the calm and collected favorite for the title, Piastri has faced a tough period and rising speculation about possible favoritism within McLaren. Yet, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, in an interview with Sky Germany, believes that the young Australian requires space rather than scrutiny. "First of all, he needs peace and quiet," Vettel said. "I don’t think anyone should need to explain to him what went wrong—he knows precisely what occurred. In times like these, everyone needs someone to support them, and he has those people in the team. Now is the time to provide him with that support so he can move forward and race freely again."

      Another four-time world champion, Alain Prost, who famously had conflicts with Ayrton Senna during his time at McLaren, expressed skepticism about the team intentionally favoring Norris, but he believes that their attempts at fairness are complicating matters. "I don’t think McLaren can afford to favor one of its drivers," he told L’Equipe. "Instead, I think McLaren is making things more difficult for itself by trying too hard to maintain fairness and always seeking someone to blame when things don’t go as intended."

      The three-way title race that seemed to be developing before Brazil has effectively narrowed down to two, as Max Verstappen’s slim hopes were nearly extinguished after a challenging weekend in São Paulo. Toto Wolff concurs that the defending champion's chances are essentially over. "That ship has sailed," asserted the Mercedes boss. "McLaren needs to simply allow their drivers to race—without getting involved with each other. The gap Lando has now is quite substantial." Nonetheless, Wolff commended the Dutchman’s fighting spirit. "His performance in Brazil was a reminder of why he’s a four-time world champion," he added.