🔗 Share this article

Were it not already an intense heatwave in Singapore, the increasing intensity of this year's F1 title fight would be enough to make all but the most stoic driver wilt. Handling the stress may determine the deciding factor between the team's Lando Norris and Piastri as the championship contest intensifies with each grand prix.

The Title Fight Remains Extremely Close

Including this round's meeting in Marina Bay, seven races remain and the championship is extremely tight. The Australian is ahead of his teammate by 25 points. Both are allowed to compete against one another and with Max Verstappen still a distant sixty-nine in arrears, it is a direct contest, with little to choose between them.

Learning from Past Champions

Formula One's most experienced and successful drivers are familiar with this scenario all too well. In 2007, when Lewis Hamilton just failed to win securing the title in the last grand prix at Brazil in his first year, it taught him the distinct pressure of a title tilt.

“I recall the lead-up to those events at the end and the pressure was present,” he said. “That was not needed. Had I known then what I know now, I would have comfortably secured that championship, I think. I have learned to avoid adding stress that’s unneeded.”

Step Into the Pressure Cooker

Welcome then, Norris and Piastri, to the cauldron. The advantage so far has swung between them. Norris has five victories to Oscar's seven wins and the pair have barely been off the top three in a McLaren car that has been the best on the grid. Piastri has been more consistent, with his British rival struggling to adapt to a lack of feel for traction from the front tires. Even so, they have dominated, the difference separating them often only which could deliver flawlessly, across qualifying and the grand prix.

Costly Errors for Lando

In this aspect the British driver has been lacking, small errors were costly in China, more so after a poor qualifying in Sakhir and worse still when surrendering the championship lead after hitting the barriers in the qualifying session in Jeddah. Then, worst of all, too aggressive in Canada he hit his partner and retired, an massive setback.

Piastri's Consistency and Small Errors

The young driver, notably in only his third season in F1, has been more comfortable. For some time spinning out at the season opener in the rain in Albert Park was his only fault and one which was excusable in the sudden rain. Subsequently, the Melbourne native was also caught out and passed by an opportunistic Verstappen at Imola, while his mistake and sanction for “erratic braking” under the yellow flag at the British Grand Prix cost him a probable victory.

Latest Struggles in Baku

Yet, these were minor hiccups against something of a debacle at the previous race in Azerbaijan. In Azerbaijan, Piastri hit the wall in the qualifying session putting him ninth on the grid, only to compound it with a false start, the car entering anti-stall and dropping him to the back of the field.

Chasing places on the opening lap, he misread the traction and finished in the barriers, an uncharacteristic sequence of mistakes that he acknowledged he could cannot repeat in Singapore.

“Baku was quite a good reminder of how quickly things can change,” he said. “There are takeaways about how I can deal with that better and insights on risk I guess is the best way to put it. There's nothing revolutionary that require to be altered or that I am going to change.”

Gaining from Past Examples

Both drivers are, for all their talent, still refining their skills in Formula One, a path often traveled by other drivers on the starting lineup. The early stages of Hamilton's time in F1 were exceptional, but he also committed his fair share of errors. Piastri could learn of Sakhir in 2008, the year the multiple title winner won his first title but which was marked by other mistakes as he was engaged in an intense fight with his Ferrari rival.

On the grid in Bahrain he had not managed to correctly set the launch control on his McLaren and it entered anti-stall, relegating him down the grid. Shortly afterwards, chasing places, he clipped the back of Fernando Alonso's Renault and had to pit with a broken front wing. He came thirteenth after a race he described as “a disaster”.

Verstappen's Initial Career

Similarly the Dutch driver's first years were defined by misjudgments as he gained experience. After a expensive incident in Monaco in 2018 then boss the Red Bull chief openly called for his driver to show greater control.

Verstappen, too, took it on board, the inconsistency almost entirely eliminated when he began winning titles. “This has just been character-building,” he said at the moment. “Throughout my life there have been times of personal growth and this was one more stage. Occasionally, it is not enjoyable but sometimes you need it.”

Closing Thoughts

The McLaren teammates are not yet at the level of the multiple champions so far but they are facing the same pressure and absorbing the same lessons. As the legendary driver noted, the first title is always the hardest. Closing this one out is the greatest test of their careers and will likely be decided by the one who can most effectively manage the heat.