Oscar Piastri reveals Max Verstappen 'surprise' in late title charge

Oscar Piastri has revealed that Max Verstappen's late title charge has caught him by "surprise", having initially felt that it was a straight fight between himself and Lando Norris. 

Since Red Bull introduced a new floor to the RB21 in the Italian GP, Verstappen is yet to qualify or finish behind either McLaren driver. In addition, he has won three of the last four races. 

Verstappen has all the momentum going into the Mexico City Grand Prix, although the Dutchman revealed in Austin last weekend that he did not think the title was even possible after Zandvoort.

Speaking at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Piastri aired a similar opinion about how Verstappen's title challenge has come as a shock.

Asked if he thought after Zandvoort that the title was only between himself and Norris, Piastri answered: "I think probably, yes. But I think probably everyone did. 

"The run of form that he’s had since Monza has been, I think, a bit of a surprise. Again, there were flashes of that kind of performance at certain points earlier in the season, but there were also some pretty big dips. 

"So for him to now be consistent – that has been a bit of a surprise. We know they’ve still been throwing a lot of things at their car, trying to improve it, so in some ways, it’s not a huge surprise.

"But I think for everyone, he’s probably come into the fight quicker than I expected."

Piastri's consistent approach

Piastri's recent struggles has also opened the door to Verstappen's pursuit of the championship leader, with a podium having not been achieved since Monza. 

Mistakes are creeping into Piastri's performances, with Norris now only 14 points adrift – Verstappen is 40 behind.

Discussing if his advantage being slashed has changed his approach, Piastri explained: "It's not, to be honest. 

"I think, obviously, the gap has shrunk a little bit in the last few races, but for me, the focus has always been on just trying to go as fast as I can and get the most out of every weekend – which in some of the weekends we have, some of them we definitely haven't. 

"So that’s really all I’m focused on. And I think if I do a good enough job of getting on top of that every weekend, then it doesn’t really matter what the picture looks like."