Oscar Piastri believes he can still be Formula One champion but recognised things were not going his way after crashing out of the Sao Paulo sprint and qualifying fourth for the Brazilian grand prix.

The Australian now trails McLaren teammate and championship leader Lando Norris by nine points in the overall standings, with three rounds remaining after Brazil, having been only a point behind before the Briton won the sprint.

In a further blow, Norris secured pole position for the main race on Sunday (early Monday AEDT).

"I've still got the belief that I can go out and win races and win the championship," Piastri said after qualifying.

"But, you know, obviously things are not coming as easy as I'd like at the moment."

The 24-year-old has won seven races so far this season to Norris's s

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