Webber hails Piastri but warns title fight far from over

Oscar Piastri strengthened his championship hand with a dominant Dutch GP, but both he and manager Mark Webber say it’s far too soon to relax.

The Australian delivered a near-perfect weekend – pole, fastest lap, and every lap led – before inheriting a wider title lead when teammate Lando Norris retired late with an oil leak. What was a slender nine-point advantage is now 34, with nine races left on the calendar.

The emphatic display prompted rare public comments from Webber, a former F1 winner who now guides Piastri’s career.

“I don’t usually do interviews like this,” he told Sky Deutschland. “But it was a strong day for him. Daniel (Ricciardo), Jack (Brabham), and AJ (Alan Jones) have already won here as Australians, and now Oscar. I’m absolutely delighted that he’s making such progress. He’s done a lot of work.”

Still, Webber was quick to add perspective. “We still have a lot of races to go, so anything can happen. I’ll be happy to tick that (title) off the list, but you have to be careful and get the points when you can. He’s also dropped a few this season.”

For his part, Piastri dismissed the idea that he can now manage the championship mathematically. “Obviously it was incredibly unfortunate for Lando at the end,” he said, “but I felt like I was in control of that one and just used the pace when I needed to.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a very comfortable margin. As we saw today, it can change with one DNF very, very quickly. So this far out from the end of the year, it’s not a comfortable gap.”

Red Bull’s Helmut Marko was among those impressed by the 24-year-old’s composure. “Piastri controlled the race at will,” the Austrian observed. “Whenever Norris got too close, he increased the pace.”