OSCAR PIASTRI has shut down the wild claims that McLaren are sabotaging him.
It comes after Max Verstappen’s dad, Jos, stoked flames by saying the Aussie driver needs to “stand up for himself”.
Piastri has suffered a dip in form, finishing behind Lando Norris in the last five Grands Prix to leave him one point behind the Brit in the title race.
But he is not feeding into the conspiracy theories which have accused McLaren of favouring Norris in the title race after the Aussie was ordered to swap places with the Brit in Monza.
Piastri, 24, said: “No, it’s not the case.
“You know, I think the last couple of weekends have been a little bit more tricky, but we’ve got pretty clear answers on why that’s the case.
“There’s not really too many mysteries on what’s kind of happened.
“I think there’s some questions of kind of why some differences have cropped up in terms of how I need to drive and stuff like that, but there’s, yeah, everything is explainable.
“So there’s definitely none of that going on.”
Verstappen Sr earlier stirred the pot by saying he would be “banging his fists on the table” if he were Piastri with two sprint races and four grands prix to go.
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There have been conspiracy theories that McLaren are prioritising Norris in the title fight.
Norris has been booed twice this season, including in Monza where Piastri was told to give second place back to his team-mate due to a slow pitstop for the Brit.
Jos, whose son is still in the title race just 36 points back of Norris, said: “I find it quite strange what’s happening at McLaren.
“Piastri cannot suddenly have forgotten how to drive? If I were him I’d bang my fist on the table. Because right now everyone is wondering whether he can handle the pressure — and that’s not good for your reputation.”
When asked if McLaren were deliberately holding Piastri back, Verstappen Sr added: “That may seem that way. If I were Piastri, I’d be standing up for myself now.
“Everyone assumed he was going to be champion and that perception has changed very quickly.”
