Oscar Piastri concedes to 'outside shot' in F1 title bid

Oscar Piastri has admitted he now only has an “outside shot” of winning the F1 title following a difficult run of form.

The Australian has failed to finish ahead of team-mate Lando Norris since the Dutch Grand Prix in August, a stretch that has seen the latter take control of the title fight.

Norris now sits 24 points ahead of Piastri and Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who was handed a significant boost in his title quest last time out in Las Vegas when both McLaren drivers were disqualified from the race results.

Piastri, who held the lead of the drivers' standings for much of the year, understands he must rely on external factors in his pursuit for the title.

“There’s still a chance, and it's played out that way a couple of times before,” Piastri told media including RacingNews365.

“So I know it's not impossible. I also know that it's a bit of an outside shot.

“Even if I have a perfect final two weekends, I can't just rely on that. I need other things to go my way. I’m very aware of that.

“For me, I’m just going to try and have the best weekends I can, which I try and do every weekend and and see what happens to everyone else.”

With Qatar hosting the penultimate round of the F1 campaign this weekend, Piastri can take encouragement from his strong track record at the venue, finishing on the podium at every visit.

As he looks to end his difficult run of form in comparison to his team-mate, Piastri labelled the Lusail International Circuit as a strong location to do so.

“It's a circuit that I enjoy, it's a circuit I've done well at in the past,” Piastri said. 

“Vegas was looking reasonable from a pace point of view. Qualifying, the end of Q3, didn't go how I wanted.

“The race was what it was, a few mistakes in there. The pace when I had clean air to be able to use my pace was pretty good. 

“We've already found a lot of improvements in those conditions but here is a much different circuit, much higher speed, very grippy tarmac. 

“Maybe some wind around, but pretty consistent temperatures at least. Hopefully it can be a good weekend.”