Jenson Button has spotted a recent change in Oscar Piastri that’s scuppered his championship chances

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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri needs to arrest a concerning dip in his form if he’s got any chance of becoming the 2025 Formula 1 world champion.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix looked set to be the sixth consecutive race that Oscar Piastri had failed to finish on the podium at.

However, McLaren’s double disqualification meant that Piastri was denied a P4 finish, but once again moved within 24 points of teammate Lando Norris.

That was one of the only positives for Piastri, but McLaren will be far more concerned that Max Verstappen is now within one race win of claiming a fifth consecutive drivers’ championship from a seemingly impossible position.

The Australian driver’s drop-off since winning the Dutch Grand Prix has been alarming, but Piastri appeared to find a new level of confidence in Las Vegas.

Watching him more closely on the streets of Sin City, Jenson Button believes that the 24-year-old’s driving style, which has served him so well during the first half of the season, might now be slowing him down.

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Jenson Button thinks Oscar Piastri’s ‘smooth’ driving style has derailed his championship hopes

Button was commentating alongside David Croft for Sky Sports F1 (23/11 4:48 am) and watching Piastri’s attempted charge up the field after being hit by Liam Lawson going into the first corner.

Croft said: “For Piastri, it’s damage limitation once again, whose title championship since that win in Zandvoort has just unravelled for one reason or another, he can’t find the pace that he was showing earlier on in the season.”

Button replied: “Yeah, and also, when you’re putting yourself on the third row of the grid, especially here in Vegas, there’s so much that can happen at turn one at the start, and it did, and he got pushed out.

“So, it’s not been an easy run for him. He’s also now behind [Esteban] Ocon, who he should be able to get past pretty easily, but it’s still going to cost him time.”

Croft then asked: “Is it another low-grip track that doesn’t suit Oscar Piastri, and we’re seeing that with his driving style, he just struggles in these sorts of conditions?”

Button explained: “Yeah, he’s very smooth, he’s very precise, and sometimes that’s a benefit, sometimes it does hurt you.

“I think that Lando likes to throw the car around a bit more, a bit more like Max Verstappen, and you can see that out there. He’s just able to get more out of it.

“He’s able to get the car working around a circuit with such low grip.”

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Jenson Button questions where Oscar Piastri’s consistency has gone during the 2025 F1 season

Button was speaking after the race about Piastri’s recent drop off, and looking for an explanation, he said: “We can’t forget he’s not been in the sport for very long. His performances have been amazing at times.

“The consistency this year’s been a little bit off, which has been surprising. We thought he was the one who was very level-headed, could take pressure, but it seems not to have worked out for him.

“He will get his time to fight for more wins and also for possible world championships in the future.”

Piastri watched on as Norris matched David Coulthard’s record for most Grand Prix entered for McLaren in Las Vegas.

It highlighted what Button was saying and what many people forget, which is how new to Formula 1 Piastri still is.

Damon Hill has identified where Piastri still lags behind Norris in their head-to-head battle, but he’s still got plenty of time to iron out any issues in his racecraft in the coming years.