Oscar Piastri makes feelings clear about McLaren No.1 driver plan after Max Verstappen win

Oscar Piastri has asked his McLaren team to resist choosing a number one driver despite the rising threat of Max Verstappen. The Dutchman scored 23 points more than the Aussie over the United States Grand Prix weekend with victories in both the Sprint race and the Grand Prix.

Piastri and team-mate Lando Norris both crashed out of the Sprint and, although the Brit was second in the Grand Prix, the championship leader only managed fifth and lost significant ground. Verstappen has been in lethal form since Red Bull found a way to make his car more compliant and he is now a serious contender for a fifth consecutive drivers' title.

But when asked if he thinks now is the time for McLaren to pick a number one drivers to help them see off the Dutchman, Piastri made it clear he does not want his team to intervene. And he pointed out that such a choice would be difficult with only 14 points separating him and Norris at the top now.

Asked if he thinks now is the time for McLaren to choose a number one, Piastri replied: "I don't think so. We're still so incredibly tight and we've both said we want an opportunity to try and fight for the championship because we deserve it, so I think it's far too close to start picking one over the other."

Norris managed to limit the damage as much as he could after he lost second place to Charles Leclerc on the opening lap. It meant he spent much of the rest of the race trying to get past the Ferrari which slowed him down and meant he did not get the chance to take the fight to Verstappen out front.

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But he eventually got back through to finish second and ensure he would score only seven points fewer than the Dutchman. And he said afterwards: "Finally made it through, took long enough. But it was a good battle with Charles, he fought hard and it was tough. We did everything we could. Charles drove a very good race. It was good fun, good battles. But I'll take second as there was not a lot more I could have done."

Verstappen was delighted with Red Bull's execution and, for the first time, admitted he is now very much in the title fight. He beamed: "It was an unbelievable weekend for us. I knew the race for us was not going to be super straightforward. If you look at the whole race, the pace between myself and Lando was really close.

"That first stint was where we made the difference as I could eek out a gap which is what helped at the end. I'm just incredibly proud of everyone for delivering a weekend like this. For sure, the chance is there. We just need to keep delivering weekends like this until the end and try to do what we can."