Piastri shuts down Red Bull rumours, affirms loyalty to McLaren

Mexico City, Oct 25 (IANS) Oscar Piastri has dismissed rumours linking him to Red Bull, affirming his dedication to McLaren in the wake of speculation that Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko hinted at possible talks between Piastri’s manager, Mark Webber, and Red Bull over the young Australian's future.

Speaking to media at the Mexico City Grand Prix, Piastri made his position crystal clear, "I think we all know that Helmut says a lot of things in the press. As far as I’m aware, there’s no truth to it," Piatri was quoted by F1 as saying.

The Australian's commitment to McLaren is underscored by his strong performance since joining the team, where he has a contract through 2026. "I’m very, very happy where I am. The team have supported me massively since I came into F1, they gave me my opportunity. At the moment in the standings, we’re in a very happy place, so I am more than happy with where I am at the moment," he said.

The McLaren driver, who is having a standout rookie season, is focused on keeping McLaren at the top of the constructors’ standings, where they currently lead Red Bull by 40 points.

Reflecting on McLaren's recent race in Austin, Piastri acknowledged that it wasn’t up to their recent high standards. "It was an average weekend, I would say – not terrible, but just not to the high standards I guess we’re used to now, which is in some ways quite a nice thing. But definitely some things after the weekend that I think if we went back again, we’d probably try a few things differently," Piastri reflected.

As the battle at the top tightens, with Ferrari and Red Bull stepping up their pace, Piastri believes McLaren is well-equipped to fight for race wins in the final rounds. 'Our pace (in Austin) was not as bad as what people thought,” he said. “When you come from the weekend before [in Singapore], when Lando (Norris) won by 20-something seconds, nothing’s going to look as good as that."

While Ferrari’s one-two finish in Austin has brought them closer in the constructors’ race, Piastri remains confident. "I think we’re still pretty positive that we can be winning a lot of races at the end of the year. Red Bull look to be more competitive as well, so the competition is just very, very tight still," he said.

With the final races approaching, Piastri is determined to keep McLaren in the lead. "We do need to be on top of our game. But certainly in the constructors’ championship we’re still in the position to be in which is at the front, and we want to try and keep that lead and extend where we can," Piastri stated.

--IANS

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