Oscar Piastri has rejected the idea that he will be partly looking to get justice for manager Mark Webber in this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, deeming racing drivers “selfish people”.
Piastri is the clear outsider in F1’s title-deciding season finale, with the Australian sitting third in the standings and 16 points adrift of McLaren team-mate Lando Norris.
To become the first Australian world champion since Alan Jones in 1980, Piastri must finish first or second and hope bad luck strikes both Norris and Max Verstappen.
However, history is on Piastri’s side, with the last two title deciders featuring more than two drivers having been won by the driver in third.
In 2007, Kimi Räikkönen secured a shock drivers’ title after entering the final round third in the standings, with Sébastien Vettel achieving the same in 2010.
The 2010 title decider was between four drivers, one of whom was Webber, Piastri’s current manager. No part of Piastri is seeking retribution for Webber’s title defeat.
Asked if part of his push for the title in Abu Dhabi would be to get justice for Webber, Piastri said: "No. I think for me, I’m trying to do it for myself. Ultimately, as racing drivers, we’re pretty selfish people most of the time.
"And ultimately, we’re the only ones in the car, doing it for our own personal pride. Obviously, there are a lot of people along the journey — your family, your friends, managers, whoever it might be, people that supported you.
"But ultimately, you start out in this sport because you want to do it for yourself. So yeah, that’s first and foremost.
"I’m sure Mark would love to see me win, obviously. But yeah, there are no kinds of thoughts about paying that back or anything like that."
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