Oscar Piastri lauded for ‘nice touch’ after watching Lando Norris win the 2025 Formula 1 title

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Oscar Piastri finished second at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but it was not enough as his McLaren teammate Lando Norris won the 2025 Formula 1 championship.

The Australian knew it was going to be a tough ask to come out on top at the season finale. Piastri was 16 points behind Norris heading into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen four points ahead in second.

Verstappen took pole position and was not challenged during the race. Piastri took the lead after the Dutchman pitted and completed a long stint on the hard tyres before the Red Bull eventually caught up and passed him.

McLaren held position for the remainder of the race, with the 24-year-old finishing second and his teammate third. It means that Norris has won the title by two points over Verstappen, with Piastri in third, 13 points adrift.

Martin Brundle lauds Oscar Piastri for his ‘nice touch’ to Lando Norris’ family after winning 2025 championship

It looked like Piastri was in a strong position to win the championship after the summer break. He led the title by 34 points after his victory at the Dutch GP.

That would turn out to be his last win of the season. Piastri made countless mistakes in the following races, which ultimately cost him 47 points, while Norris collected two wins and six podiums from the last nine races.

Heading into Abu Dhabi, Zak Brown said McLaren would place team orders on Piastri if it came to it. Fortunately for the Aussie, those orders did not come, but his P2 was not enough to clinch the title.

After the race, Piastri was seen congratulating Norris and his family and friends on the main straight. Martin Brundle applauded the 24-year-old for his actions.

He said via Sky Sports F1 (7/12, 2:37 pm): “Nice touch from Oscar, congratulating the Norris family and friends.”

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

Oscar Piastri’s camp will be furious with 2025 outcome

Norris is a worthy champion, but the way in which McLaren have handled the title battle has been called into question several times.

Piastri’s camp feel they have ‘come off worse’ far too often when McLaren have had to implement team orders. Incidents at Monza and Singapore left a sour taste in the Aussie’s mouth, which ultimately set him on a difficult run of form.

Brown said Piastri was furious after he lost in Silverstone, another race where valuable points were dropped. He will take a lot of learning from the 2025 season and will want to mount a challenge in 2026.

But one thing is absolutely certain: Piastri will hope that he is free from team orders and intervention at McLaren.