Sao Paulo Grand Prix: Lando Norris says he is ‘driving well’ and has ‘lessened weaknesses’
Piastri recovered to put in a strong performance in qualifying but was unable to make any headway in his final run, falling behind not only Norris but also Antonelli and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
His form in recent races is in stark contrast to his performances at the start of the season, when he looked unflappable, and there is growing belief that Piastri, in just his third season in F1, can press for the title.
“It feels like things aren’t flowing so easily right now, you know?” the 24-year-old said.
“Yesterday I was very confident in the car. Today was a little more challenging for everyone and I was trying to get the most out of the car.”
“I still believe that I can go out there and win races and win the championship, but you know things are not going as easily as I would like.”
Asked how he could limit further damage to his title hopes in the race, Piastri said: “Just try to pass a few cars for you, that’s all I can do, just try to take advantage of the opportunities that arise.”
“There’s also a question about which tires to use because, you know, the soft tires didn’t look very good, they didn’t look good in qualifying and they didn’t look very good in the sprint either.
“So I think there’s a bit of a question mark there as well and maybe that could give me some opportunities.”
Having faced a tough challenge from Antonelli for the sprint victory, Norris expects a similarly tough battle with the 19-year-old Italian driver in the grand prix.
Norris said: “I learned that they were quite fast in the sprint. And I learned that Kimi pushed all the way.”
“So in some ways I’m looking forward to it, in some ways I’m not. I think it’s going to be a big challenge tomorrow. We’ll have to see what the weather is like again, but it’s been clear so far this weekend. So I’m hoping they don’t screw that up.”
Antonelli, who is in his first season and has achieved his best result so far in third place, said he hoped the expected cool conditions would favor Mercedes.
“The pace was really strong this morning,” he said. “It’s been pretty cold and it should be the same tomorrow. Maybe that can help us a little more.”
“But you know it’s never easy to run in dirty weather. Hopefully we can keep a strong pace and put pressure on them and hopefully fight to win.”
