Piastri: It would be nice to win, Norris needs the points, let's see

Norris needs as many points as possible, as his title rival and nemesis Max Verstappen lines up his Red Bull right behind the McLaren on the grid in P4. Thus, if Piastri and Norris are running one-two late in the Sprint Race on Saturday, will Andera Stella impose team orders and swap his drivers?

This would inflict maximum damage on Verstappen in terms of points. But after Qualifying for the Sprint Race, pole winner Piastri made clear his intent during his interview in Parc Ferme: "Try to win, that's the first thing.

"It's going to be a very different Sprint to last year with the resurfacing, so we'll see what the weather and the temperature does. But starting from the best seat in the house, so try to make sure it stays that way."

But later in the TV pen, Piastri will play the team game if need be: "We'll see what the pace is like tomorrow for both of us. "I think first and second is the first objective, and then we'll see what order it is.

"I know that I'm not in the running for the drivers' standings; for the team, it doesn't matter which way around we are, so I know that's the case, and we'll see. I've said I would [relinquish a victory] from when we first had these discussions. It would be nice to win, but it's one point different and it's not the main race, so we'll see.

"Lando needs the points in the drivers' standings a lot more than I do, but of course I still want to win. If I put in the effort and show good pace, I'm sure that won't go unnoticed, but we'll see."

As for the pole-winning lap, which unexpectedly usurped pace setter and teammate Norris' best effort, Piastri said: "It was a tricky session. I felt pretty comfortable at the start, and then the grip was coming up a lot through the session.

With the track this year, it's hard enough to see where you're going, let alone trying to do a fast lap, so it's challenging out there. But happy to have qualified on pole for the Sprint.

"My first lap didn't feel amazing, and I knew there were a few places to improve, and the second lap was good, and the tyres hung on. So very, very happy, so excited to be starting off P1," said Piastri.

This prompts the question: if Piastri is indeed in "the best seat in the house" and Norris in the second best seat, will they swap the pair? It will be an interesting team order and rules of engagement conversation to eavesdrop on, Norris, Piastri, Stella, and probably McLaren CEO Zak Brown.

Ahead of Sao Paulo's Sprint Race and Grand Prix, in the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship standings, Verstappen leads Norris by 47 points, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc P3, 71 points off the leader in the Drivers' standings after 20 rounds. McLaren lead Ferrari by 29 points in the Constructors' race.