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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri had to settle for third place in the drivers’ championship after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
No driver led the championship for longer than Oscar Piastri in 2025, but the Australian’s late difficulties meant that he went into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix needing a very specific set of results to take the crown.
Piastri knew victory would be enough to see off Max Verstappen, but that would have still required Lando Norris finishing sixth or below to win the drivers’ championship.
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The Australian got the jump on Norris on the opening lap, but was never in contention to beat Verstappen, and had to settle for P2 on track and third in the standings as a result.
Piastri was given a lot of credit for his reaction to Norris winning the championship, but his hope will be that in the future, he’s the driver celebrating at the end of the season.
Martin Brundle and Nico Rosberg were reflecting on the 24-year-old’s efforts across 2025.
While they were very impressed, they admitted that they got one thing wrong about the McLaren star.
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Martin Brundle admits he ‘misread’ Oscar Piastri’s calmness during the 2025 F1 season
Brundle was previewing the race in Abu Dhabi for Sky Sports F1 (7/12 11:28 am), and while discussing Piastri, he said: “What we have to remember is he has 82 races less experience than Lando Norris. That’s three and a half seasons.
“Imagine how much Lando’s improved in the last three and a half seasons.
“So, he is a future world champion. I have no doubt about that, Oscar Piastri.
“He’s had a couple of brutal penalties this year that have cost him dearly, at Silverstone, and of course, in Brazil as well. But I think we might misread him a little bit as well.
“I thought when he sort of went on the missing list a little bit for six races, didn’t he?
“Threw it in the wall in Baku had lost his head a little bit, and just generally, he basically. He’s not absolutely stone cold horizontal. I think he soaks a little bit as well. We misread him.”
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Rosberg added: “I mean, mentally, he is so strong. I would consider him one of the strongest out there.
“He’s just so level-headed. It’s the same pizza in the evening, whether he wins the race or finishes fourth with the same crowd.
“Lando was also saying throughout this weekend that if there was one thing he’s jealous of Oscar for, then it would be Oscar’s level-headedness, and his mental approach and being so balanced.”
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Martin Brundle pinpoints the moment Oscar Piastri’s championship challenge fell away
Brundle was then asked about what went wrong in Piastri’s season, and he continued: “If the swap in Monza was the moment where his chin dropped, where his head dropped, then he’s got to stop that from happening, because it shouldn’t have happened.
“It was Baku for me, twice in the wall and the jump start, where he seemed to be out of sorts all weekend.”
Rosberg: “And that coincides with where he suddenly became the big favourite for the championship.
“He had a big points gap at that point, and that just changes your dynamic; you start to feel the pressure, and I think he’s so solid mentally, but I believe that he also, for the first time, really started to feel a little bit of pressure there.
“And that’s when those little errors then kick in.”
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If Norris and Piastri hadn’t swapped positions in Monza, then Verstappen would be a five-time champion, given how fine the margins were at the end of the race.
Piastri was left livid at one point in 2025, highlighting that he’s not always the cool and calm character that he publicly portrays.
However, it also shows his competitiveness, which is what he’ll need if he’s going to become a world champion in the future.
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