Oscar Piastri gives surprising response to possibility of nightmare F1 scenario

Oscar Piastri has acknowledged that Max Verstappen swooping in to steal away the F1 drivers' title from McLaren would "hurt" - but that he could accept the outcome.

Whilst Piastri is competing with team-mate Lando Norris for the crown, Red Bull has essentially a one-car team going for the drivers' title, as Verstappen is seeking to take a record-equalling fifth straight championship.

Verstappen has won two races to Piastri's five so far this season, and is continuing to harvest points whilst the McLaren drivers have their own intra-team fight.

After his Spanish GP meltdown, Verstappen now trails by 39 points on 137 to Piastri's 186, with Norris on 176. 

It has similarities to the 1986 season, where Williams had the dominant car and won the constructors', but as drivers Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet fought, it allowed McLaren's Alain Prost to steal the drivers' title in the season finale, albeit helped by Mansell's famous puncture.

Addressing the possibility of a repeat, Piastri acknowledged it was a possibility, but insisted McLaren's approach was the right one. 

"It is a possibility, yes," he told BBC Sport. 

"But, on both sides of the garage here, we want to win because we've been the best driver, the best team, including against the other car in the team. 

"You always want to earn things on merit, and you want to be able to beat everyone, including your team-mate.

"So that gives Lando and I the best chance of our personal goals of trying to become drivers' world champion, while also achieving the main result for the team, which is the constructors' championship.

"If we do get beaten by Max, of course that would hurt, but we would know that we both had the same opportunity, we were racing everybody out there and that's just how it panned out.

"For us it's the most straightforward, the fairest way of going racing and that's what we've asked for."