Oscar Piastri warned over 'risk danger' as F1 title pressure ramps up

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."