Oscar Piastri says McLaren will prioritise winning the Formula 1 constructors' championship over helping Lando Norris win the drivers' championship. (More Sports News)
Red Bull started the season strongly, getting one-twos in three of the opening four races, but McLaren have since closed the gap in the constructors' standings to 42 points.
The team have improved, particularly in the three months since Norris took his first Grand Prix victory in Miami, and were on the podium for the 10th consecutive race after Piastri’s second-place finish in Belgium last Sunday.
There was a contentious moment at Hungaroring the week before when Norris refused to give the lead back to Piastri, who eventually won the race after being let back in front by his team-mate with two laps to go.
Norris is 78 points adrift of championship leader Max Verstappen, but Piastri is confident they are both on the same page when it comes to to pushing McLaren up the standings.
"The first objective is to win the constructors' for the team, and I think we've got a very strong chance of doing that," Piastri told Sky Sports News. "We've been closing the gap to Red Bull in the last six or seven races.
"I think for me, the drivers' standings, of course, I'd like to finish as high as I can. I'm not out of the running for the championship myself. It's a very big ask, but I want to string together good races, build consistency on that front, and really help the team to win the constructors'.
"If it comes to a situation where I need to help Lando later in the year, then, of course, it is something we'll discuss, but the first target is to win the constructors' and try to do a good job for myself as well."
McLaren were not expected to be contenders for the championship at the start of the season, but Red Bull have faltered in recent weeks to leave the door open.
Sergio Perez has failed to finish above seventh since the Miami Grand Prix, while Verstappen's last victory came in Spain at the end of June.
Though they are still in with a chance of topping the standings with 10 races remaining, Piastri is confident that, no matter this season's result, they can build some momentum for next year as well.
"At the end of last year we had a very quick car on certain circuits, but we really needed to rely on those circuits to get good results," the Australian added.
"This year, we've just been quick everywhere and that's been a joy to be a part of, but a real confidence boost to everybody that we're not relying on the high-speed corners like we were last year.
"We can rock up and be pretty confident we'll be, if not the quickest, then one of the quickest, and I think that sets us up really nicely for next year.
"I feel like I'm growing in confidence. Getting some more good results and just learning more through my second year as well.
"I want to learn as much as I can and have as much success as I can this year. But ultimately, I think trying to set up a really strong run next year is a realistic target at the moment."
