Oscar Piastri has been massively impressive since he took the step up to F1 in 2023. Even when the Australian did not have the car to win, it was clear that his talent and mentality were those of a future world champion. In 2025, his third season in F1, he possesses both the talent and the car to be a serious contender for the title. The 24-year-old currently leads the Drivers’ Championship having scored 234 points.
Even before Piastri was promoted to Formula One, his talent prevailed. The championship leader consecutively won Formula Renault, Formula 3, and thereafter Formula 2. His talent, determination, attitude towards racing, and now a dominant car in the form of the MCL39, all come together to shape his ability to lead the Formula 1 championship.
The 24-year-old has astonishingly already secured five wins, four pole positions, and ten podiums in the first half of the 2025 season. The McLaren team have dominated thus far this season, and will undoubtedly attempt to carry that stunning momentum into the rest of the season.
Improved qualifying performance
Piastri has shown consistent progress in both tyre management and qualifying performance over the past year. When looking at his performance in qualifying this season, Piastri’s skills illustrate the amount of effort he has put into improving every weakness. On tracks he might have struggled with last season, such as Barcelona, he has now adjusted his approach, creating minor changes that have a massive impact on his lap times and the overall result. The championship leader’s consistency in qualifying has led to him not qualifying outside of the top four thus far this season.
Additionally, his calm but determined attitude peeks through in every way, especially during the high pressure moments. The McLaren driver has developed a mindset that helps him stay focused and calm while remaining ruthless on track. Keeping cool under pressure is crucial. It is a quality the Australian is well known for.
A quick turnaround of the early season
The season opener in Australia was the home hero’s worst race of the season thus far. While his teammate, Lando Norris stormed to victory, Piastri had to settle for P9. He made a mistake where he spun into the wet grass from P2 on Lap 44. It massively set him back.
The turning point came immediately the next weekend in China. It quickly became clear that Piastri refused to let his home race defeat set the tone for his season as he bounced back stronger. The Chinese GP was Piastri’s from the moment he leaped from his grid box in pole position, to the second he took the chequered flag. The Aussie had a solid start, and despite George Russell attempting his best to overtake him, Piastri managed to defend his position. From there on, the McLaren driver left the others behind him to scuffle as he stormed away to create a gap and hold the lead.
Piastri rocketed to his first win of the season with an almost 10-second lead as his teammate had braking issues in the closing stages. The victory marked his third win of his F1 career, while grabbing pole position earlier in qualifying secured his first Grand Prix one.
Next was the Japanese GP. While the Australian driver was unable to secure another victory in Round 3, he still managed to race his way to the podium, securing P3. Max Verstappen dominated around Suzuka, getting his elbows out to prevent anyone from passing him and won for the fourth year in a row.
Tyre management excellence
One of the early highlights of Piastri’s season came in the run from Bahrain to Miami. The championship leader’s improvements in race management could especially be seen during the Bahrain GP. In 2024, the Australian started and finished in eighth place. During the race, he went off track when attempting to defend his position. Additionally, the struggle of putting too much heat into the tyres was prominent. One of the main difficulties for the McLaren driver last year was managing his tyres.
This season, McLaren stunned with excellent tyre management which has become a major factor in their race performance. The ability to regulate their tyre temperature in a way that keeps them cooler became a huge advantage over the other teams. The importance of understanding and fixing this challenge was demonstrated in the 2025 Bahrain GP. Piastri started on pole and stormed to a first place finish, fifteen and a half seconds ahead of the field. The victory concluded a perfect weekend for the Australian driver.
Record setter for McLaren
Next up was the Saudi Arabian GP where Piastri lined up second on the grid. With a brilliant launch off the line, he quickly came into battle with Verstappen. The Aussie tried to take the lead while Verstappen went off track trying to defend, and he was punished for it. At the end of the race, Piastri came out on top and took the victory for a second weekend in a row. Similarly, the important moments took place at the beginning of the race the next weekend in Miami.
While the Australian lined up fourth, he took the opportunity to move forward when Verstappen locked up in front and forced Norris in second off the track, with Antonelli launching into second. From the moment Piastri made a brave move along the inside and roared by Antonelli, he was in a good position to attack Verstappen ahead. In the dominant McLaren car, the championship leader made the long-awaited move on Verstappen on Lap 13. From there on Piastri calmly secured the victory.
With his victory in Miami, Piastri became the first McLaren driver since Mika Häkkinen to win three grand prix in a row. The young Australian driver quickly keeps breaking records which puts him in a good position for the title fight early on.
Triple header lessons
The triple header proved to be more difficult for the championship leader. In Imola, he lined up on pole. However when Verstappen made an unexpected but spectacular move around the outside of the two cars ahead in Turn 1, Piastri lost the lead. Perhaps, the Australian was reminded of the lesson to always expect the unexpected when you see Verstappen lurking behind in the mirrors. After being called to pit early on, Lap 14 saw Piastri tumbling down the order and battling his way back through the field. In the last couple of laps, his teammate, Lando Norris showed determination and made move to overtake the Australian for P2. Piastri still manages to maintain a podium finish as he ended the weekend in third. The wheel-to-wheel racing from the papaya teammates in Imola was a taste of what was to come a few weekends later in Canada.
Monaco was another tough weekend for the Australian as he started and finished third on the grid. In a season where McLaren is so dominant, Piastri showed disappointment with a third place finish. As he remains determined to chase victories instead of settling for third. In any championship battle, it can be expected to have a few blips as it would be nearly impossible to avoid. The Monaco weekend concluded with high tension. There were only three points between the McLaren teammates after Lando Norris took the win.
The Australian driver spectacularly bounced at the Spanish GP, roaring to his fifth victory of the season. The McLaren drivers lined up on the front row, making it the first McLaren front-row lockout in Spain since Häkkinen and Coulthard in 1998. The Aussie showed his skill and determination by driving a controlled race leading to victory.
Growing tensions
In a close title battle between teammates, with increasingly fine margins, tensions are bound to grow. The Canadian GP proved exactly that, and a moment between the McLaren teammates demonstrated the inevitable clash. After a disappointing start to the weekend, Norris lined up seventh. While Piastri was on the second row in third place. While most of the race seemed straight forward for the McLarens, the scrap came near the end of the race. On Lap 67, Norris found himself catching up to Piastri in fourth.
The McLarens almost ran side by side onto the start finish straight when Norris decided to make an ambiguous move. He attempted to squeeze by the immensely narrow gap inside of Piastri before Turn 1. Ultimately, the risk led him to run into the back of his teammate. Despite the damage from the contact, Piastri managed to finish the race. However, Norris sent himself into the barrier and out of the race. The risk of attempting to attack the near non-existent gap led to an immediate retirement for Norris. The ambitious move took the Brit from a potential P5 finish to a DNF.
The loss of points over the Canadian GP weekend could be detrimental in the championship battle. They bounced back in Austria with a 1-2 finish. Norris on top this time with a gap of 2 seconds to Piastri.
Strengths and weaknesses
One of the moments that proved to be Piastri’s biggest mistake was after the second safety car restart at the British GP. The Australian put himself in an amazing position early on which could have had him take the victory. However, the 24-year-old made a mistake which ended his chances of victory around Silverstone. When the safety car was ending, Piastri appeared to speed up for a moment before significantly reducing his speed. The rest of the field were forced to step on the breaks as a result of the misjudgement.
The Australian claimed he did not do anything differently to the first restart, expressing that he hit the brakes simultaneously as the lights on the safety car went out. Despite this, the stewards noted him for a safety car infringement. Consequently, the McLaren driver was hit with a 10 second penalty. The penalty eventually led to his teammate grabbing the win.
Additionally, when looking at Piastri’s season, it remains important to compare it to that of his teammate, Lando Norris, for reference. The two McLaren drivers keep the battle for the title immensely close. As they have both managed to secure several wins, poles, and points to be in serious contention for the title of world champion. Looking at the fourteen races this season thus far, including two sprint races, a narrow margin separate the two in points. However, when looking at their race craft, Piastri appears to come out on top. Both drivers have made mistakes here and there. However, those of Norris look to come by more often as minor misjudgments leading to big moments.
A papaya battle for the title
With Piastri having majorly improved his qualifying skills from last season, the race qualifying head to head illustrates Piastri leading 7-5. Similarly, sprint qualifying has Piastri coming out on top as he qualified ahead of Norris for both sprint races. The grand prix tell a different story, as the two teammates find themselves equalized.
From early on in the season, it appeared that the title fight would be between the two McLaren drivers. While one should not ever discount the miracle worker that is Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, it becomes more difficult to see anyone not in the dominant papaya car as a championship winner this year. The McLarens lie first and second in the championship battle.
With only 8 points between the teammates, but 61 points from Norris to Verstappen in third. While there is still half a season to go, it becomes increasingly hard to see how the rest of the field can close the gap to the McLarens in the front.
If the strong momentum from the first half of the season keeps going, the challengers will need to try their hardest. The real battle for the title looks to be between the two teammates in papaya.
