Since letting his McLaren slide off the track on Lap 44 in Melbourne and losing out on a podium—if not a win—Oscar Piastri has been almost flawless.
Four victories in the next five races and a podium in Suzuka have allowed the young Australian to regain almost everything he lost in the season opener and lead the Drivers’ Standings by 16 points, ahead of not only his teammate but also of the driver who’d been tipped to win the title before the season began.
Piastri is laying down the marker for the World Championship by nailing almost every session. Moreover, this season the field has been so tight that shipping a couple of tenths to your teammate can cost you several rows on the grid rather than just a position or two, as Lando Norris found out in Bahrain.
So far, Norris is making his job look difficult, with the MCL39 suiting his teammate more during the initial stages. Piastri is making everything appear seamless—even when he’s managing problems with the car.
Psychological edge
When Piastri spun in the Melbourne rain, he lost to Norris in terms of championship points and, in many people’s eyes at the time, psychologically. In reality, that wasn’t the case at all. Since that mistake, he has bounced back with four wins in China, Bahrain, Jeddah, and Miami and now has a decent lead in the championship race.
What’s been particularly impressive is the composure and maturity with which the 24-year-old has come back and driven since the first round. Where Norris could have marked his territory with his victory in Melbourne, Piastri has struck back immediately and harder.
Another striking feature is Piastri’s attitude, especially his behaviour both on and off the track. At the moment, he looks like a cold-blooded assassin who gets his things done with a poker face, without necessarily giving the impression of doing so. He has a ruthless streak in him that you only see in some of the great champions of this sport.
With a car like the MCL39, Piastri is a genuine title contender. What also works in his favour is the greater room for improvement he has compared to Norris, who’s been around the F1 circuit for a longer time but still makes too many small mistakes—as he did both in Sakhir and Jeddah.
A couple of bad weekends won’t be the end of Norris
You’re only as good as your last race in Formula 1, and there are a lot of lingering questions about Norris’ title credentials after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He’s making mistakes, and he’s making them too frequently for someone gunning for his first world title.
Norris has had bad weekends, it’s true, but he has still managed to finish close to the podium if not on it—he finished fourth in Jeddah. That’s not too bad for a bad weekend.
Piastri looks strong. After his recent performances, it’s hard to find any weaknesses in the manner in which he’s applying himself. But there will be difficult weekends for him as well, and while Norris has been on the podium five times this year, Piastri has struggled to limit the damage on weekends where things haven’t gone his way.
That was the case in Melbourne. His mistake, even with some leeway for the tricky conditions, proved costly. He’s not going to start dominating overnight. There will be many weekends where he won’t be able to match Norris’ pace. Case in point, in Jeddah, during all three practice sessions, as well as Q1 and Q2 sessions, Norris was the faster driver, but his crash in Q3 opened the door for Piastri to capitalise.
What the Australian has shown in the last five races is that it won’t be easy for Norris this year. And it’s looking more and more likely that Piastri will be his biggest threat. That, though, doesn’t change the fact that Norris has more experience—and he’s proven that he can keep learning and improving.
There’s more to come from Piastri
That said, Piastri has looked so good this season that Norris will be worried about what more he can do in a car that clearly doesn’t suit the British driver at the moment. And, while it’s true that it’s still early in the season, it’s important to remember that the first few races can be crucial in terms of team dynamics.
Look at what happened the last time McLaren won four of the first five Grands Prix of a season. In the 1998 season, David Coulthard—having had the upper hand over Mika Häkkinen the year before and having finished third in the Drivers’ Standings—was beaten by the Finn fair and square in the initial stages. As the team started the new season as the frontrunners for the title, and with someone like Michael Schumacher wringing the neck of a not-so-competitive Ferrari (sounds familiar, Max Verstappen fans?), McLaren eventually prioritised the driver better placed to win the championship—Häkkinen.
Of course, this is just an example—Piastri and Norris are in a different situation. But let’s not forget that this is only the Aussie’s third year in F1, and he’s only going to get better as the season progresses.
We can already see that by comparing the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Last year, Piastri lost 24-6 to Norris in head-to-head Qualifying, including last year’s Sprints. Interestingly, those losses included five of the six circuits visited by F1 so far in 2025, but Piastri now leads the head-to-head duels 5-3, with his losses ending up less than a tenth from his teammate.
Do not underestimate Verstappen
Momentum can shift quickly in the volatile world of Formula 1. As strong as Piastri’s performances in the first five races have been, one must never underestimate Max Verstappen—something we’ve been reminded of once more between his win in Suzuka and his P2 finish in Jeddah. While everyone expected McLaren to dominate, the reigning World Champion squeezed every last drop out of his RB21 and more, pushing that unpredictable car to the front.
Bahrain was rough, but Verstappen did what he does better than anyone else. Even when the pace isn’t there, he extracts everything from his RB21. Sixth was the best he could do in Bahrain and, with that, he managed to limit the damage as best as he could. Without the Safety Car, things could have been much worse.
Similarly, in Miami, it was well known around the paddock that the RB21 couldn’t match the pace of the McLaren and Mercedes cars. But the four-time World Champion managed to put his car on pole, though as the race wore on he dropped back to finish in fourth, with a pit stop under the Virtual Safety Car aiding the Mercedes cause.
But hey, if there’s one driver who knows how to win a championship, it’s Verstappen (sorry, Ferrari fans). His main rival on paper, Norris, is far from faultless, and while Piastri may be a bigger threat, this is his first-ever attempt at making a push for the Drivers’ title.
One thing is certain: Red Bull will improve over the coming months. Things can’t really get much worse for them than they already are. As long as their competitors keep taking points off each other, and Verstappen continues doing what needs to be done, anything is possible.
There’s a real possibility that the competitive order could shift again—especially when the flexi-wing ban kicks in when the grid moves to Barcelona, which may also play into Red Bull’s hands.
Last year, McLaren proved that a team can fight for the championship despite a poor start to the season. The Drivers’ title wasn’t within reach because Norris had missed too many opportunities. If there’s one thing we know, it’s that Verstappen will grab every chance that comes his way—that’s where he makes the difference, and that’s exactly why one should never count him out.
Conclusion
After the Miami Grand Prix, Piastri leads the Drivers’ Standings with 131 points. His teammate is second with 115 points, while Verstappen has 99 points.
The Miami race marked Piastri’s fourth win in five races. With performances like these, he’s establishing himself as a genuine title contender. Now in his third full season, his understanding of the Pirelli tyres has also developed a lot compared to last season. His racecraft and situational awareness have also improved exponentially over the winter break. While consistency has never been a question since his junior days, there’s a new-found ruthlessness about him, making him a formidable opponent.
These factors, combined with him being the championship leader in the fastest car on the grid, make Piastri the current favourite. If Norris were to bounce back quickly, or it Red Bull brought some meaningful improvements, the title could tilt in another direction.
As things stand, however, the momentum is with Piastri.
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