Pit Debrief’s 2025 F1 Driver Rankings finds McLaren driver Oscar Piastri 4th following his first season challenging for the WDC. The Australian driver showed significant improvements this season, particularly in his qualifying pace. However, Piastri’s mid-season slump ultimately cost him the title to teammate Lando Norris.
Home race woes
Piastri’s season started dubiously in Australia. He made a mistake in tricky mixed weather conditions, sliding off-track and getting beached in grass. He fell from P2 to the back of the grid.
Piastri showed off his ability to maintain cool under pressure, reversing his car onto the run-off area and rejoining the grid. Within the remaining laps, Piastri worked his way back into the points, finishing P9. While not the season start he hoped for, this race gave us a glimpse into Piastri’s performance for the season.
Storming into championship contention
Qualifying marked Piastri’s weakest point in 2024, with Norris comprehensively beating him 21-3. In 2025, Piastri significantly improved his form and scored his first pole position in China. While Norris still edged out the Australian, the gap significantly tightened to 13-11.
Piastri began to win races. After winning in China, he scored McLaren’s first victory in Bahrain, finishing ahead of Russell by 15 seconds. Piastri continued to win in Saudi Arabia and became the first Australian to lead the WDC since his manager Mark Webber in 2010. During the first half of the season, Piastri finished on the podium in 12 of the 14 times, taking home six wins.
Piastri made a few notable mistakes during the first half of the season. On Lap 1 in Imola, Max Verstappen made a bold overtake on Piastri to take the lead of the race and win. The Australian also lost out to Norris later in the race, who overtook him on fresher tyres. In Silverstone, Piastri significantly decreased his speed behind the Safety Car. As a result, he received a 10s penalty and lost out on the win to Norris. Nine points separated the McLaren teammates after the summer break.
The Dutch GP marked Piastri’s first grand slam — and his final win of the season. After a mechanical failure for Norris, Piastri gained a 34-point lead on his teammate in the WDC. It seemed like the Australian would run away with the title. Unfortunately for him, things started to go awry.
Hitting a wall (literally)
Monza marked the return of “papaya rules” for the McLaren boys. Piastri inherited P2 late in the race after Norris suffered a slow pit stop and rejoined in P3.
The McLaren pit wall requested that Piastri give the place back to Norris. The Australian driver appeared confused by the team order, stating, “We said that a slow pit stop was part of racing, so I don’t really get what changed here. But I’ll do it.” He gave the position back to Norris, settling for P3 and losing points to his championship rival.
Piastri claims Azerbaijan is the “worst weekend [he’s] ever had in racing.” The weekend started poorly with a reliability issue during practice. He then crashed during qualifying, which left him P9 on the starting grid. During the race, a false start caused him to drop to the back of grid before ultimately crashing half a lap later.
When asked what went wrong during his Baku GP weekend, Piastri admitted the previous race in Monza was still affecting him to a small degree. While many perceived Piastri to be a level-headed driver, it was clear the pressure of the championship had started to take its toll.
Losing the lead
Piastri seemed to bounce back in Singapore, qualifying P3 ahead of Norris in P5. However, the Brit aggressively overtook his teammate on Lap 1, making contact. Although neither car sustained damage, Piastri made his displeasure clear over the radio during the race. Ultimately, McLaren sided with Piastri and gave Norris “repercussions” for the remainder of the season.
Unfortunately, Piastri continued to struggle during the next three races. During the sprint race in COTA, Piastri collided with Norris on Lap 1. Norris’ “repercussions” were immediately revoked. The Australian driver went on to finish P5 during the main race while Norris finished on the podium.
Piastri lost the WDC lead in Mexico, where Norris won the race in a dominant fashion. The Australian driver struggled for pace all weekend, ultimately finishing P5 behind Haas driver Ollie Bearman.
In Brazil, Piastri suffered another crash during the sprint race in wet weather conditions. While he appeared to recover for the main race, on Lap 5 he dived inside Kimi Antonelli, locked up, and caused the contact that broke Leclerc’s suspension. While Piastri had gotten up to P2 behind Norris, he was given a 10s penalty for causing a collision.
From Piastri’s perspective, the run into Turn 1 put him fully alongside Antonelli with no sensible option to yield. Other drivers, including Leclerc and Williams driver Carlos Sainz, agreed that the stewards call could have been more flexible. Unfortunately, Piastri’s risky move failed to pay off and he lost more points to Norris in the championship.
Vegas saw both McLarens disqualified for excessive plank ware. The disqualification ultimately worked in Piastri’s favour, as the Aussie originally finished the race in P4 while Norris finished P2.
Fighting to the end
Piastri returned to form at the end of the season. The Australian driver looked on his way to securing a perfect weekend in Qatar — sprint pole, sprint win, and pole position secured. Unfortunately, an early Safety Car during the main race saw McLaren keep both drivers out while the rest of the grid pit. This poor strategy decision cost Piastri the win to Verstappen.
Despite Qatar being one of Piastri’s strongest drives of the season, he lost P2 in the championship to Verstappen. However, the Australian driver remained in contention for the WDC heading to Abu Dhabi.
Piastri started the final race in P3 and overtook Norris on Lap 1 to try and chase down Verstappen for the win. However, Verstappen maintained his lead to win the race and Norris held onto P3, securing his maiden championship. Piastri ultimately finished the championship in P3.
Final verdict
While Piastri fell short of the championship, he showed the world what he is capable of achieving in just his third season of the sport. Throughout the 2025 F1 season, Piastri scored seven wins, six poles, and 16 podiums.
Unfortunately, Piastri was unable to maintain consistent form throughout the season. While the first half of his season was incredibly strong, the Aussie significantly struggled during the second half which cost him his maiden F1 championship. This drop in performance was likely driven by a need to refine his long-run driving capabilities and consistency under diverse conditions. Ultimately, Piastri’s lack of consistency across the season affected his driver ranking for the 2025 F1 season.
However, Piastri’s improvement from 2024 to 2025 should be applauded, showing he has room to grow and more pace to unlock. The Australian was able to match experienced teammate Norris across majority of the season. There is no doubt that Piastri will continue to improve, working on his stamina to maintain consistency across a long F1 season.
