Yesterday at 06:30
Ralf Schumacher has cautioned Oscar Piastri about taking "too many
risks" as his F1 drivers' championship battle with Lando Norris
comes down to the wire. With only 10 rounds of the season
remaining, the Australian leads his McLaren team-mate by just nine
points, with Norris having slashed his advantage in recent weeks.
The six-time grand prix winner believes the 24-year-old has come on
leaps and bounds since last season, addressing key weaknesses and
developing "strong nerves" to accompany his improved race pace.
Norris is considered by some to still have the edge in outright
performance, but Schumacher sees the pair as being on par with one
another. "I would have said Lando was the more complete driver
before," the 50-year-old told German outlet BILD . "But Oscar has
overcome his weaknesses from last year. He was too harsh on the
tyres and couldn't keep up with the race pace. "Now he has strong
nerves and is fast. I see them both on the same level. One
retirement or one mistake can decide the world championship." The
fight between the pair has thus far remained clean, save for the
British driver's mistake at the Canadian Grand Prix, which only
cost him, with Piastri able to continue, finishing fourth. In fact,
had Norris not thrown away the 10 points that would have
accompanied his would-be fifth-place result in Montreal, he would
have had the advantage by a single point at the summer break,
emphasising Schumacher's point. However, Piastri has come
perilously close to colliding with Norris twice, with near misses
in Austria and Hungary from locking up the front tyres of his MCL39
whilst hunting down the 25-year-old. "I see the danger with Oscar
of taking too many risks when he sees the title in front of him,"
the former Jordan, Williams, and Toyota driver added. "That can
sometimes go wrong."
