Piastri ready to make McLaren sacrifice to aid Norris F1 title quest

Oscar Piastri has re-iterated his commitment to supporting Lando Norris' bid to win the F1 drivers' title after securing pole for the sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The Australian out-qualified his team-mate at Interlagos by three-hundredths of a second as the McLaren pair locked-out the front row.

After Papaya Rules were introduced and seemingly discarded, it was made clear Piastri would be expected to move aside for Norris for the remainder of the F1 season after the Italian Grand Prix in September.

There have been a couple of moments were McLaren have decided not to switch its drivers, including the race at Monza, but there has since not been opportunity to favour Norris in his bid to usurp Max Verstappen as F1 drivers' champion.

When speaking to Sky Sports F1, Piastri was asked about the prospect of playing a supporting role in the Brazil sprint, to which he replied: "We'll see what the pace is like tomorrow for both of us.

"First and second is the first objective, and then we'll see what order it is. I know that I'm not in the running for the drivers' standings and for the team, it doesn't matter which way around we are, so I know that that's the case and we'll see what happens."

When it was directly asked whether he would sacrifice victory at Interlagos, he confirmed he would.

"Yes," the 23-year-old responded. "I've said I would from when we first had these discussions.

"It would be nice to win, but it's one point different, and it's not the main race. So, we'll see.

"Lando needs the points in the driver standing a lot more than I do. But of course, I still want to win. So if I put in the effort and have good pace, then I'm sure that won't go unnoticed, but let's see."

Piastri, when speaking directly after getting out the cockpit of his MCL38, highlighted various unknowns facing the field when the lights go out for the sprint.

The Interlagos circuit has been re-surfaced, making it "challenging" to drive.

Despite the threat of team orders looming over the two-time grand prix winner, he expressed his joy at going quickest in the first of two qualifying sessions in Sao Paulo.

“It was a tricky session," Piastri reflected. "I felt pretty comfortable at the start, and then the grip was really coming up a lot through the session.

“With the track this year, it’s hard enough to see where you’re going, let alone try and do a fast lap, so it’s challenging out there. But no, happy to have qualified on pole for the sprint.”

“My first lap didn’t feel amazing, and I knew there was a few places to improve. The second lap was good and the tyres hung on, so very, very happy and excited to be starting off P1.”

When asked what the aim for the sprint was, the Australian replied: “Try and win, obviously, that’s the first thing. We’ll see.

"It’s gonna be a very different kind of sprint to last year, I think, with the re-surfacing, so we’ll see what the temperature does, what the weather does.

“But starting from the best seat in the house, so will try and make sure it stays that way.”