Piastri: "We are on par with Norris"

Piastri described Silverstone as his "second home" and emphasised that he was not looking back to the Alpine era.

Asked about his internal rivalry with teammate Lando Norris, Piastri said: "I think we are very evenly matched. This year, depending on who is at their best, the races can go either way. Whoever gives 100% that weekend has a good chance of winning."

"I don't care how many points Max is behind in the championship. He's a threat every weekend. So it's still very risky to take him out," Piastri said, rejecting suggestions that Red Bull's Max Verstappen is out of the running after his retirement in Austria.

"I haven't really thought about it lately," he said of his previous decision to leave Alpine. "When I first started in F1, there were comparisons between the two teams' direction, but in the last 12 months it hasn't even crossed my mind." He also said his comments about Alpine cars getting in his way at the Austrian GP were just a matter of coincidence in the race.

Piastri, who noted that McLaren still hasn't used the new suspension package, said: "For me it's not an upgrade, it's just a different preference. It makes some things better, some things worse. I'm happy with the way the car behaves so far, so I'm not considering that change."

Speaking about Silverstone being Lando’s home race, Piastri said: “I lived in England for a long time, so this is a second home race for me. I’ve raced here many times before, I have very special memories. But my goal this week is to win. It doesn’t matter where.”