Oscar Piastri denies F1 points lead influenced Lando Norris defeat in qualifying at Italian GP

Oscar Piastri has denied that his F1 championship lead over Lando Norris impacted his qualifying performance at the Italian Grand Prix.

Piastri is set to start Sunday’s race at Monza from third on the grid, qualifying behind Max Verstappen and Norris.

The Australian has a 34-point lead over Norris following the Dutch Grand Prix.

Piastri stormed to his seventh victory of the season at Zandvoort, while Norris’ race ended early due to a chassis-related issue.

Speaking after qualifying, Piastri was asked if he’s focusing on ‘damage limitation’ due to his substantial championship lead.

“When you’re on the lap, you’re going for it and you’re going for pole. You don’t know what anyone else is going to be able to pull off. At the moment, yes, you’re going flat-out.

“Obviously afterwards, it creeps in a little bit but there’s still a long way to go and I will try and make up some spots tomorrow as I would like a few more wins if I can.”

Piastri not surprised by Red Bull pace

Unlike at Zandvoort, where McLaren dominated practice, the battle for pole was between several teams this weekend.

Ferrari were quick throughout practice, while Verstappen jumped to the top of the order as qualifying progressed.

Reflecting on his best lap in Q3, Piastri said: “Nothing major. Turn 1 was a little bit average but the rest of the lap felt pretty tidy. I executed a pretty good session.

“I built up to it a little bit at the start and found my feet. It’s been incredibly tight this weekend. Max and Red Bull looked quick this weekend. I mean to be honest, a lot of teams looked quick.

“It’s not been quite as comfortable for us. The results is not a big surprise but obviously, I would have loved to be a little bit further up.”

Piastri missed FP1 as Alex Dunne got a chance to drive for McLaren to fill their young driver quota. 

This put Piastri on the back foot and meant he struggled for race pace in FP2.

However, Piastri is still confident of a strong Sunday.

“I don’t think it looked too bad from where I was. It’s been a little trickier for us in general,” Piastri explained.

“I missed FP1 as well so that was my first long run and the race is always very different. I am pretty confident for tomorrow."