Australian outsider Piastri's hopes sank further on Saturday when he finished behind the two championship frontrunners in qualifying for the final race of the year in Abu Dhabi.
Verstappen's sublime run to yet another pole ahead of Norris kicked off a mass of speculation in the Yas Marina paddock about how McLaren's title leader Norris might yet capitulate to the charging champion, who has promised to go "all-out" for an unlikely title-clinching victory.
McLaren was asked about potential "dirty tricks'' from Red Bull's ruthless Verstappen, who only last week was jovially labelled by the British team's boss Zak Brown as an indestructible "monster'' who just won't lie down and keeps coming back to haunt them.
Norris, for one, reckoned he was ruling out nothing, while McLaren principal Andrea Stella shrugged that he wasn't worried and was confident there would be "interesting racing but within the boundaries of sportsmanship and fairness".
In all this, Piastri, four points behind Verstappen and 16 adrift of teammate Norris, was treated a little like the forgotten man, his third place on the grid on Sunday having made it ever more improbable he can take the title, especially as he has to finish in the top two just to stay in the hunt.
Even a victory might not be enough, with Norris needing to just finish in the top three to seal the title.
Yet Piastri, asked about the possibility of him having to accept McLaren's team orders to help Norris, reminded everyone gently: "Until either Lando or Max cross the line in front of me, I've still got a chance of winning the title, so we'll see how the race pans out."
The key for him on a circuit where it's not easy to overtake will come at the start, and Piastri was asked whether he might be tempted to enjoy his third place and let the two favourites jostle, risking a potential collision.
"It could do," he smiled wryly. "We'll see. We'll see how it gets played."
Asked about his approach to the first turn, the Australian added: "Not really sure yet. I haven't thought that far ahead. But obviously to try and win the championship, I need more than to just simply win the race, so we'll see what that entails.
"I need things to happen in the race to win the championship," added the 24-year-old, whose manager Mark Webber lost out to Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel, lying third at the time, in another multi-driver championship last-race showdown in Abu Dhabi in 2010.
"So I'll wait and see if those things happen."
Verstappen was also asked whether he might repeat the tactics in the 2016 finale, when Lewis Hamilton tried to back his chasing teammate Nico Rosberg into the orbit of the cars behind so they could overtake him. It didn't work.
"It was also a different layout. I feel like now you get towed around a lot more around the lap, so it's probably not as easy to do something like that," Verstappen said.
"Cars also are completely different to back then. It was a lot easier back then to back it up because the tyres would overheat a lot when you would get close.
"I hope it's not straightforward, the race, but hopefully that's not because of me."
