Piastri reveals what the decisive factor will be in the title battle
Ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, McLaren's Oscar Piastri has revealed what he thinks will be the decisive factor in the hunt for the championship glory.
Championship leader Oscar Piastri endured disappointment when he got beaten by his team-mate Lando Norris in last Saturday's Grand Prix qualifying session at Spa.
However, the 24-year-old managed to make up for the defeat on the opening lap of the Belgian Grand Prix. Piastri got a better run than his team mate through the complex of Eau Rouge and Raidillon, allowing him to then make the move on the Kemmel straight.
As drivers switched from intermediates to slick tyres, Piastri enjoyed priority, pitting a lap earlier than Norris which allowed him to build up a margin of over eight seconds.
Although the Briton looked very competitive and comfortable in the closing stages of the 44-lap race on his hard Pirelli tyres, Piastri did not allow to slip the victory through his fingers. Having taken his sixth victory of the season, Piastri now leads his team-mate Norris by 16 points.
Asked what he thinks will count more for the title - being the fastest man or the one who makes the fewest mistakes -, Piastri said that both factors will play a role in the hunt for the championship title.
"Both, ideally. You can make an argument for either one. You can be consistent, but if you're consistently coming second, that's not very useful. You need to have both.
"At the level of the field and the level of my teammate, you need to bring your best. Inevitably, when you're pushing that hard, there are going to be mistakes here and there because it doesn't come without risk.
"You can't afford to take things easy and try and be consistent. You need to push and you need to be quick. Of course, you try and execute as best as you can, but you need both to win the championship. You can't just rely on one."
With the margins in performance between Piastri and Lando having ebbed and flowed quite considerably, Piastri highlighted what he thinks will be the defining difference as to who wins the title.
"Honestly, it's a very similar answer. The way you win races at the back end of the season is the same way as at the start. You need to be faster than everyone around you and you need to make the least mistakes possible.
"That aspect doesn't really change. Like I said, it's great to be consistent, but if you're consistently being beaten, that's not a recipe for a championship. It's a balancing act of both. Obviously, if you're a robot, you'd be able to be as fast as possible and make zero mistakes, but we're all humans, so that's not possible.
"There is going to be an element of minimizing mistakes, but you need to be fast at the same time, and you can't afford to sit back. If you try to take that approach, you'll end up being beaten."
