F1 Journalist Refused To Ask 'Rude' Oscar Piastri Question Fearing He'd Be Upset

Sky Sports F1 reporter Ted Kravitz has revealed he decided not to ask a question to McLaren driver Oscar Piastri over fears he would think it 'rude'.

Piastri lost his lead of the Drivers' Championship to Lando Norris in Mexico after finishing in fifth place.

Norris, who won the Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, is now one point ahead of his McLaren team-mate with four races of the season remaining.

Max Verstappen is 35 points behind Piastri, with the Red Bull driver still in with a chance of winning what would be his fifth consecutive Drivers' Championship.

It has been a difficult few weekends for Piastri, who crashed out of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the sprint race in Austin.

He has a best result of fourth out of the other three races, collecting 32 points across that time period.

In comparison, Norris has scored 58 points, with Verstappen picking up 66 to close the gap to both drivers.

Piastri could only qualify in eighth place in Mexico, describing his lack of Saturday pace as a 'mystery' - although team principal Andrea Stella told Autosport that the track's characteristics simply suited polesitter Norris' driving style more than his team-mate's.

Now, Kravitz has revealed that, after Piastri's crash in Azerbaijan, he came up with an idea for questions to ask the Australian driver in his pre-race media interviews prior to the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Sky F1 reporter revealed that he wanted to ask the Australian 'security questions', such as his mother's maiden name, before then asking him whether a different Oscar Piastri was driving the McLaren in Azerbaijan.

But speaking on the 'Road to Success' podcast, Kravitz explained that he quickly changed his mind.

"I had this idea to find out if we're talking to the real Oscar Piastri," he said.

"Let's ask him the security questions. 'Sorry, Mr Piastri, can I just take you through the security questions? Can I have your mother's maiden name? Name of your first pet? Now I'm satisfied I'm dealing with the real Oscar Piastri, who was driving the car last week?'

"And then I thought, 'Maybe I'll put myself in his head'. Maybe he'll think, 'It's all very clever, but that's a bit rude. It was me driving, and I just made a mistake'. So I decided not to do that."

Formula 1 returns on November 9 with the Brazilian Grand Prix, which takes place at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Interlagos.