Oscar Piastri makes telling comment about Lando Norris as F1 title battle heats up at Emilia Romagna GP

Oscar Piastri's answer spoke volumes when asked about the F1 title battle between himself and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Piastri has won each of the last three Grands Prix to sit on top of the Drivers' Championship heading into the seventh race of the season.

He is 16 points ahead of second-placed Norris, who won the season opener in Australia but has not stood on top of the podium since then.

Pressure has grown on the Brit in recent weeks, heightened by a crash in qualifying in Saudi Arabia that forced him to start from 10th place.

And Norris found himself playing catch-up at the most recent Grand Prix in Miami after having to take to the escape road on lap one following a battle with Max Verstappen.

In contrast, Piastri's composed drives have put him in pole position to win his first Drivers' Championship, even at this early stage in the 2025 season.

And ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which takes place at the Imola Circuit in Italy, Piastri aimed a subtle dig at his team-mate.

"I think Lando and I both have a chance to win the world championship this year," Piastri said. "We want the world champion to be whoever deserves it the most.

"Of course, if we have competition from outside McLaren then maybe we'll look to do some things later in the year.

"But I think for now, clearly the battle is Lando and I. And we want the best person to win every weekend.

"At the moment, that's what happening."

Piastri finished narrowly ahead of Norris in first practice in Imola, with the top five separated by under a tenth of a second.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton was in fifth place, with the Scuderia hoping to show more pace than in Miami, where Hamilton and Charles Leclerc finished eighth and seventh respectively.