Brundle: Calm head will pay dividends for Piastri in championship battle

"He's 82 races behind Lando Norris in terms of experience. That calm head of his will pay dividends."

"You can imagine, if we get a big, old championship showdown how useful his horizontal sort of nature will be."

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Even though Verstappen started in pole position, Piastri did not need to overtake the Red Bull driver on track, as Max received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

Entering turn 1, Piastri and Verstappen jostled for position, with Oscar slightly ahead at the apex, granting him the right of way. Verstappen had to leave the track, unwilling to relinquish his position or lead, prompting the FIA to investigate the incident.

Eventually, he received a five-second time penalty, which allowed Piastri to overtake Verstappen during the sequence of pit stops.

Verstappen had the pace to challenge for the win, and he could have potentially done so if he had conceded the position and saved the five seconds.

Instead, Piastri has now become the leader in the title fight, a surprising development given that the pre-season expectations were that Norris would be the favorite to win the title.

Brundle's point about Oscar's demeanor may be making all the difference, as Lando Norris has been feeling down on himself over the last couple of races due to his struggle to perform consistently well.

Piastri has maintained his focus during race weekends and has not dwelled too much on expectations. Additionally, he has adapted well to the challenges posed by the MCL39.

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