Piastri 'killer instinct' vital in future McLaren fight - Brundle

Martin Brundle has theorised that Oscar Piastri has “no interest” in seeing Lando Norris win a world championship this year.

McLaren's uptick in form, coupled with Red Bull's downward spiral, has offered Norris an outside chance of a title win as he sits 62 points behind Max Verstappen with eight grands prix and three sprints remaining.

On the opening lap of the Italian Grand Prix last weekend, Piastri delivered a bold move on Norris around the outside of Turn 4 for the lead of the race.

McLaren referenced “papaya rules” on multiple occasions during the day regarding recommendations of engagement, but writing in his latest column for Sky Sports, Brundle praised Piastri's mentality.

“Piastri clearly has no interest in Norris' world championship chances against Max Verstappen, which we'd already witnessed in Hungary when he firmly seized the lead in the first corner,” Brundle said.

“The racer in me admires this attitude. That's why Piastri won championships and ended up in a race-winning F1 car. 

“The last thing which will excite him is Norris becoming world champion in the same car. That doesn't mean he won't help out at some point, and indeed that he hasn't helped out here and there already, but that racer's mentality and killer instinct is all important.

“I remember saying in commentary in Hungary, if the roles had been reversed, would Piastri have handed Norris the lead back, and I really don't know the answer. I do know that many ruthless and selfish world champions I've raced against wouldn't have.”

McLaren 'lost control' of the race after Leclerc move

Piastri's overtake on Norris also allowed Charles Leclerc to slip through into second place.

From there, Ferrari executed a one-stop strategy to deliver Leclerc a race win, his second at the Monza Circuit.

Brundle highlighted Leclerc's move into second place as a game-changing moment in the race, despite Leclerc slipping behind Norris during the first pit stop phase.

“Whilst this was all very good for Piastri and Ferrari, it wasn't helpful for team McLaren,” Brundle added. 

“They lost control of the race at that moment, they couldn't dictate the optimum pace for the tyres and strategy, and work as a pair using the DRS and pit stop calls to stretch and destabilise their main rivals, which turned out to be Ferrari.

"The Reds had aerodynamically trimmed their car with a little less drag and more top speed. 

“This was perhaps not great for qualifying, or indeed tyre preservation, but they felt it was more raceable.

"McLaren would pit Norris for hard tyres on lap 14, Ferrari would respond for Leclerc on lap 15, much to the young Monegasque's chagrin as he lost second place to Norris and felt there was a long way to go with 38 laps remaining.

"Piastri had enough lead not to need to pit until lap 16 and so once again McLaren were running one and two and surely had this one covered? That's not how it turned out.”