MEXICO CITY (AP) In the past, Oscar Piastri struggled in the final races of a season while trying to secure a racing championship. The Australian driver hopes that the past can help him cope with his current circumstances in F-1 starting this weekend in the Mexican Grand Prix.

Piastri won seven of the first 15 Gran Prix races this season to build a comfortable 104-point lead over reigning champion Max Verstappen, who has been in great form since and has taken advantage of McLarens troubles to cut that lead to 40 in just four races.

I think hes been very consistent in the last few weekends. And, and being strong as well, theres no denying that, Piastri said Thursday. But theres no benefit worrying about that, the thing thats going to help me win this championship is trying to get the most out of myself.

Piastri found himself in similar situations before in his career. In 2019 in the Renault Eurocup, he had a 40-point lead over Victor Martin, who cut it to 5 1/2 points, but Piastri secured the championship in the last race of the season.

Something similar happened to Piastri in the 2020 season of Formula 3, where he lost a 25-point lead and then trailed Logan Sargeant by seven points, but finished strong in the last races to win the crown.

There are some similarities, yes. I think ultimately in this championship, I feel stronger than I did in that year, and some things are a bit different. I think its also similar to the Formula Renault championship I had, Piastri said.

I think it is a good thing I have evidence that I can pull it off and won both of those championships. Those are nice things to look back on. But I also know that just because Ive done it before doesnt mean its automatic to happen this time around.

Verstappen downplays grid

tape fine

Red Bull was fined 50.000 euros (around $58,000) by FIA after the stewards found out that a member of the team tried to remove Lando Norris grid tape before Max Verstappens United States Grand Prix win last weekend.

Under the current rules, tampering with tape markers is not illegal, but some Red Bull critics pointed out that it could be considered to be poor sportsmanship.

I guess it took a bit longer for whatever reason and the gate closed, Verstappen. said. If he was distracted or not, the right way was to stay out of it, I think is quite clear. How do you explain it? Also the stewards. So I think that is quite understandable that you get fined for that.

Piastri was politically correct when asked about the incident.

I dont have that much to add, but theyre within their rights to do it. But obviously, in Austin, they were on the grid too late doing it, the Australian driver said. I guess gamesmanship. But everyone will have their own opinion on whether its necessary or not.

Ferraris closing on a one-year anniversary without wins

The Autdromo Hermanos Rodrguez saw a Ferrari driver at the top of the podium nearly a year ago, when Carlos Sainz won the Mexican GP on Oct. 27, 2024, and that streak could be extended according to Charles LeClerc.

I remember very much last year where Carlos was actually very strong the whole weekend, and it was difficult for me to get close, but at the moment it doesnt seem very likely that we are going to fight for the win this weekend, LeClerc said. But, never say never.

The 28-year-old driver has six podium finishes this season including a third place last weekend at Austin. His teammate Lewis Hamilton has yet to reach one.

There are many things weve learned from from last weekend. I hope that we can bring it here, Piastri said. However, I would like to lower the expectations, it doesnt mean that well see the same kind of performance this weekend.

Ferrari is third in the constructors race already won by McLaren, but it has just a three-point lead over Red Bull.

Last year was a very positive weekend for for the team in Mexico. I hope we can reproduce that, but I feel like we are further away compared to the last year, LeClerc said. Until the end of the season, its going to be very tough to win races without any strange things happening.

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AP auto racing:

墨西哥城（美联社）——过去，奥斯卡·皮亚斯特里（Oscar Piastri）曾在赛季末的关键比赛中为争夺冠军而陷入苦战。这位澳大利亚车手希望，这些经历能帮助他在本周末开始的F1墨西哥大奖赛中应对当前挑战。

皮亚斯特里在本赛季前15场大奖赛中赢得7场胜利，一度以104分的优势领先卫冕冠军马克斯·维斯塔潘。然而维斯塔潘此后状态极佳，并借助迈凯伦车队的困境，仅用四场比赛就将差距缩小至40分。

皮亚斯特里周四表示："我认为他在过去几周的表现非常稳定，而且实力强劲，这一点毋庸置疑。" "但为此担忧并无益处，能帮助我赢得冠军的是全力以赴发挥自己的最佳水平。"

皮亚斯特里在职业生涯中曾多次面临类似局面。2019年雷诺欧洲杯赛事中，他原本领先维克托·马丁40分，虽然后者将差距缩小至5.5分，但皮亚斯特里最终在赛季收官战中锁定冠军。

皮亚斯特里在2020赛季国际汽联三级方程式锦标赛中也经历过类似情况：他先是丢掉25分的领先优势，随后落后洛根·萨金特7分，但最终在最后几场比赛中强势反超，成功夺冠。

“确实存在一些相似之处。我认为在这次锦标赛中，我比那一年感觉更强大，但有些情况也略有不同。这让我想起了之前参加的雷诺方程式锦标赛，”皮亚斯特里说道。

我认为这是件好事，我有证据证明自己能够做到，并且赢得了那两项冠军。这些都是值得回顾的美好经历。但我也明白，仅仅因为我曾经做到过，并不意味着这次就能自动重现成功。

维斯塔潘淡化排位赛成绩的重要性

磁带罚款

国际汽联（FIA）对红牛车队处以5万欧元（约合5.8万美元）罚款，原因是赛事干事发现该车队一名成员在上周末马克斯·维斯塔潘赢得美国大奖赛前，试图移除兰多·诺里斯的发车位胶带。

根据现行规则，篡改赛道标记并不构成违法行为，但红牛车队的批评者指出，这种行为可能被视为有违体育精神。

维斯塔潘表示：'我认为无论出于何种原因，时间拖得有点久，大门已经关闭。不管他是否分心，正确的做法是置身事外，我想这很明确。你如何解释？赛事干事也一样。所以我认为因此被罚款是完全可以理解的。'

当被问及这起事件时，皮亚斯特里的回答滴水不漏。

这位澳大利亚车手表示："我没什么可补充的，但他们有权这么做。不过很明显，在奥斯汀站，他们上赛道的时间太晚了。" "我觉得这是战术博弈吧。但至于是否有必要这样做，大家都会有自己的看法。"

法拉利即将迎来一年无胜绩的纪念日

近一年前的2024年10月27日，卡洛斯·塞恩斯在赫尔曼诺斯·罗德里格斯赛道夺得墨西哥大奖赛冠军，让法拉利车手站上领奖台最高处。夏尔·勒克莱尔表示，这一连胜纪录有望延续。

勒克莱尔表示：“我清楚地记得去年卡洛斯（赛恩斯）整个周末的表现都非常强势，我很难接近他。但目前看来，这个周末我们不太可能为胜利而战。”但他补充道：“不过，世事无绝对。”

这位28岁的车手本赛季已六次登上领奖台，包括上周在奥斯汀站获得的季军。而他的队友刘易斯·汉密尔顿尚未取得这一成绩。

皮亚斯特里表示：“我们从上周的比赛中学到了很多，希望这次能延续良好状态。”但他随即补充道：“不过我要降低大家的期待值，这并不意味着本周末我们会看到相同的表现。”

法拉利在制造商积分榜上位列第三，尽管迈凯伦已提前锁定冠军，但法拉利仅领先红牛车队3个积分。

勒克莱尔表示："去年墨西哥站对车队而言是非常顺利的一站比赛。虽然希望能重现佳绩，但感觉我们今年的竞争力相比去年有所下滑。本赛季剩余比赛中，若不出意外情况，想要夺冠将会非常艰难。"

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