AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Oscar Piastri likely cant leave Texas fast enough.
McLarens Formula 1 championship leader certainly wasnt very fast Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas as teammate and title rival Lando Norris and Red Bulls Max Verstappen both took big bites out his points advantage at the United States Grand Prix.
Verstappen won for the third time in four races and Norris finished second. Piastri was a disappointing fifth.
What looked like a cruise control finish to his first career championship over the summer is now shaping up as a potential heart-pounding grind over the final five races of the season starting next weekend in Mexico City.
Piastri still leads Norris by 14 points and Verstappen by 40, but nothing feels comfortable any more.
Id still rather be where I am than the other two, but obviously this weekend was not what I wanted or expected, Piastri said.
His misery started Saturday when he crashed into Norris on the first turn of the sprint race and knocked out both cars. Verstappen won the sprint, punctuating the the mishap between teammates that came in the first race after first-lap scrap in Singapore had raised internal tension.
Piastri started Sunday sixth but only made up one place. The Verstappen-Norris 1-2 finish made it the fourth consecutive race Piastri has lost points to both drivers.
Verstappen has shaved a 104-point deficit to 40 in just four races. That includes the Azerbaijan Grand Prix when Piastri crashed on the first lap.
Max and Red Bull have found a lot of pace since the summer break. We saw flashes of it at the start of the year, but its been consistent since then, Piastri said.
Piastri said before the race he did not expect the team to favor either driver for the championship over the final stretch of the season. He was asked again after his poor race on Sunday.
I dont think so. We are so incredibly tight and we both said we want an opportunity to try and fight for the championship because we deserve it, Piastri told Sky Sports. I think it is far too close to start picking one or the other.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the team should relish the chance to fight for a drivers championship.
It is a privilege to be there, we have the pace to be there. It is about execution, believing in it and we do believe, Stella said. We never want to lose the joy of doing that. The tension is part of the game.
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AP auto racing:
美联社得克萨斯州奥斯汀电 —— 奥斯卡·皮亚斯特里恐怕恨不得立刻离开得克萨斯州。
迈凯伦车队的F1锦标赛领跑者本周日在美洲赛道表现欠佳，其队友兼冠军竞争对手兰多·诺里斯与红牛车手马克斯·维斯塔潘在美国大奖赛中大幅蚕食了他的积分优势。
维斯塔潘在四站比赛中第三次夺冠，诺里斯获得亚军。皮亚斯特里表现令人失望，仅位列第五。
今年夏天，他看似能轻松拿下职业生涯首个总冠军，但随着下周末墨西哥城站开始的赛季最后五场比赛临近，这场角逐或将演变成一场令人心跳加速的鏖战。
皮亚斯特里仍以14分优势领先诺里斯，并以40分领先维斯塔潘，但此刻的领先优势已不再令人安心。
皮亚斯特里表示："虽然我仍宁愿保持现状而非选择另外两种可能，但显然这个周末的结果并非我所期待或预期的。"
他的厄运始于周六的短程赛，在第一弯道与诺里斯相撞，导致两辆赛车双双退赛。维斯塔潘赢得了短程赛，而队友间的这场事故——紧随新加坡站首圈擦撞加剧的内部紧张——为比赛画上了戏剧性注脚。
皮亚斯特里周日的比赛从第六位发车，但最终仅提升一个名次。维斯塔潘与诺里斯包揽冠亚军的局面，使得皮亚斯特里连续第四站比赛在这两位车手身上损失积分。
维斯塔潘在短短四场比赛中就将104分的差距缩小至40分。其中包括皮亚斯特里在阿塞拜疆大奖赛首圈撞车退赛的那一站。
皮亚斯特里表示："马克斯和红牛车队在夏休期后速度提升显著。年初时我们曾零星看到这种表现，但此后他们一直保持着稳定的状态。"
皮亚斯特里在赛前曾表示，他并不认为车队会在赛季最后阶段为争夺冠军而偏袒任何一位车手。而在周日表现不佳的比赛后，他再次被问及这一问题。
皮亚斯特里（Piastri）在接受天空体育采访时表示："我不这么认为。我们的关系非常紧密，而且我们都说过希望能有机会为冠军而战，因为我们配得上这样的机会。我认为现在讨论谁更胜一筹还为时过早。"
迈凯伦车队负责人安德烈亚·斯特拉表示，车队应珍惜争夺车手总冠军的机会。
斯特拉表示：“能够参与其中是一种荣幸，我们具备这样的实力。关键在于执行力，我们对此深信不疑。我们永远不想失去这份快乐，紧张感本就是比赛的一部分。”
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