Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli volition effort to tighten his grip connected the drivers' title connected location crushed astatine this weekend's Italian Grand Prix astatine Monza.
However, the 20-year-old tin expect to look a situation from a resurgent McLaren and successful peculiar Lando Norris, who has won the past 2 grands prix.
And Monza is of people besides location territory for Ferrari, though the agelong straights of the historical circuit whitethorn not suit the characteristics of their car.
BBC Sport F1 analogous Andrew Benson answers your latest questions earlier circular 13 of the 2026 season.
What does Lando Norris' caller declaration hold mean for Oscar Piastri? There intelligibly is immoderate hostility down the scenes and this play his improvement performance-wise has intelligibly dipped. - Juha
There is nary question that Oscar Piastri has not started this play arsenic good arsenic helium did last.
In 2025, the Australian for a ample portion of the twelvemonth appeared connected people for a archetypal satellite title, until his play unravelled somewhat successful the last third.
This season, team-mate Lando Norris has won 2 races - and should person won a 3rd successful Miami.
Piastri has lone looked successful contention for a triumph successful Hungary, erstwhile Norris took his archetypal triumph of the year.
After taking the pb erstwhile Norris made an mistake connected the archetypal lap, determination was immoderate atrocious luck progressive successful Piastri losing the pb to Norris, erstwhile helium was delayed lapping Carlos Sainz's Williams.
But Piastri acknowledged it would person been hard to clasp Norris backmost if helium had retained the pb due to the fact that his gait connected the hard tyres was weak. It became world erstwhile helium retired with a breached gearbox.
Although the qualifying head-to-head statistic betwixt them bash not marque pleasant speechmaking for Piastri - Norris is 12-4 up - connected existent pace, determination is not a batch to take betwixt them implicit 1 lap. Norris is lone faster by 0.071 seconds connected average.
It's just to say, though, that Norris has been comfortably the much convincing contention performer - hence the 55-point and three-place spread betwixt them successful the championship
There look to beryllium a fewer things astatine contented here.
One mightiness beryllium that Piastri has ever been beardown successful high-speed corners. But the numbers of these that are grip-limited has reduced this twelvemonth due to the fact that the engines are often utilizing them to complaint the battery, thing astir which each drivers person complained. So that reduces a constituent of imaginable vantage for Piastri.
Second, the cars person little downforce than past year, and Piastri is little comfy than Norris successful low-grip conditions.
Finally, determination is nary question that Norris upped his crippled consistently implicit the people of the 2nd fractional of past play to triumph the satellite title, and has continued to rise his level done this year. Without question, helium is 1 of the drivers of the play truthful far.
Team main Andrea Stella said astatine the past contention successful the Netherlands: "Last year, we had seen already with Oscar that, from a method driving constituent of view, erstwhile the car has this debased level of grip, similar we saw past twelvemonth for lawsuit successful Mexico oregon successful Austin, helium needs to accommodate the mode helium drives, the mode helium thinks, the driving, his expectations.
"This requires a spot of intelligence effort, which gets him to suffer a mates of tenths of a 2nd due to the fact that you benignant of person to process alternatively than thrust done axenic instinct due to the fact that what happens is what you expect.
"So it's 1 of those cases successful which you person to accommodate your earthy driving benignant to the request of the car. So it stays successful the abstraction of driving and successful the abstraction of the method broadside of things. I don't deliberation it has thing to bash with immoderate intelligence benignant of opportunity. This is purely technical."
Stella points retired that the apical 3 teams are precise adjacent successful presumption of performance, which means, arsenic helium puts it, "as soon arsenic things are not optimised, past you whitethorn person a precise important positional nonaccomplishment - it's precise brutal from this constituent of view".
Both McLaren and Piastri cull immoderate proposition that determination mightiness beryllium hostility successful their relationship.
It's a fact, though, that McLaren wanted to motion Max Verstappen this summer, and that if they had it's virtually definite it would person been Piastri who was replaced.
That anticipation has receded for now, with Verstappen's caller declaration with Red Bull. But that declaration has show clauses, and if Red Bull are inactive struggling adjacent year, it whitethorn good beryllium that McLaren person different spell for Verstappen.
For now, Piastri is nether declaration to the extremity of 2027 astatine least, and volition beryllium focusing lone connected getting backmost to wherever helium knows helium tin be.
English (US)·