Piastri ready to battle Verstappen again: 'Max won't race me differently' because of Jeddah incident

23:49, 01 May

Updated: 23:50, 01 May

byKada Sarkozi

At the Saudi Arabia GP, Oscar Piastri went down the inside of Max Verstappen into Turn 1, and after the Dutchman received a five-second penalty for corner cutting, the Australian driver manage to win the race. The Australian reflected on his battle with Verstappen in Miami.

In Jeddah, Piastri got off to a better start, and could dive down the inside of the Red Bull Racing driver into the first corner. In Miami, the Australian explained he doesn't expect Verstappen to treat him any differently after his move.

"I think if it was, if the cars were the other way around, it probably would have looked identical. I don't expect Max to race me any differently because of last week. I always know it's going to be a tough fight with Max, he's going to push things right to the limit. That's what we're all here to do," he began to GPblog among others.

The McLaren driver was happy with his move. "But I think for myself, I didn't feel like I had anything to prove or anything to go out and do. That's just how I would race, regardless of who it is. But I think I was just proud of the fact that I stayed on the track, managed to pull it up, and I didn't make the move, but put myself in the position to win the race. And that was the biggest thing for me."

Piastri on the championship battle

Thanks to his latest victory, Piastri now also leads the championship. "I think the three wins I've had so far have all looked slightly different. I think Bahrain was a very, very strong weekend. China was a similar weekend. Whereas I think Saudi, I think the competition was closer. I think I didn't have it all my own way that weekend."

"And I won in Saudi because of being very strong in other areas, I think. And for me, I'd rather not have to rely on that every week, but I think I'm proud of the fact that I kind of have different tools at my disposal to try and win races," he continued.

Therefore, he is happy with his performance so far. "So I think that's been a factor. I think clearly the role of the team and the car players is quite significant, but I feel like on a personal level I've been doing a good job so far and across different areas," he concluded.

Entering the Miami Grand Prix, Piastri leads Lando Norris by 10, and Max Verstappen by 12 points in the drivers' standings.