Piastri puts a brave face on another setback
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LAS VEGAS - Oscar Piastri put a brave face on another Formula One title setback on Saturday, the Australian disqualified in Las Vegas after finishing fourth.
The blow was mitigated by teammate and championship leader Lando Norris also being stripped of points and second place for his car's excessive skid block wear.
While the gap remained 24 points, Red Bull's race winner Max Verstappen is now level with the Australian and ever more a looming threat.
There are a maximum 58 points remaining to be won, starting with a sprint race in Qatar next Saturday.
At the end of August, when he won the Dutch Grand Prix, Piastri was 34 points clear of Norris but has since suffered a devastating loss of form and has not been on the podium in the last six races.
"I'm just going into the next two weeks trying to be as prepared as I can and have the best weekends I can," Piastri told Sky Sports television before the disqualification.
"It would be nice to get some good results on the board to finish the year. The championship picture is what it is. We'll see what I can do."
In a subsequent team statement, with team boss Andrea Stella apologising to both drivers, he repeated his disappointment with the outcome.
"With how close the grid is, we're always looking at where we can gain performance, and we didn't get it right this time," he added.
"We now need to reset, refocus and push to get the best points possible in the final two rounds, both tracks that we've been strong at previously."
Piastri started fifth on Saturday, with Norris on pole position, but dropped to seventh at the first corner after contact with Liam Lawson's Racing Bulls.
He fought back to fifth, which became fourth at the chequered flag when Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli had five seconds added for a jumped start, but said he had made too many mistakes.
"From start to finish just felt like there were some tough moments through the race. In clean air we were really quick but difficult before I got the clean air and difficult after it ran out," said the Australian.
"Just a pretty bad start, took a while to find the rhythm and then just got stuck behind Antonelli for a long time as well." REUTERS
