Oscar Piastri now can’t be ruled out of F1 title race after finding new ‘confidence’ in Las Vegas

Follow us on Google Discover

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri might have been offered an unexpected lifeline in the drivers’ championship despite his disqualification from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

After crossing the line directly behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Oscar Piastri must have wondered whether his hopes of winning the drivers’ championship were over.

But, despite finishing behind Lando Norris and Max Verstappen for the seventh consecutive race, Piastri’s hopes of winning the title actually increased after the Grand Prix.

Norris and Piastri were disqualified in Las Vegas, cancelling out a six-point advantage the British driver gained over his teammate.

Although it looked like another frustrating weekend for Piastri, journalist Lawrence Barretto spoke to the Australian during the weekend and has given his fans plenty of reasons to be positive.

He thinks the 24-year-old has rediscovered his old ‘confidence’, which is just what he needs going into the final two races of the year in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

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

Oscar Piastri is more confident behind the scenes at McLaren after the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Barretto was speaking about both drivers on the F1 Nation Podcast after their disqualifications in Las Vegas.

On Norris, Barretto said: “I think the Lando of maybe earlier in this year or years gone by might have let it get to him, and it might have affected him and not send him into a spiral, but maybe had a bad effect on that following weekend.

“Whereas now I think the Lando that we’ve got now is mentally tough, and I think that is what will hopefully carry him into Qatar without it affecting him too much.”

Barretto was then asked if he had seen progress from Piastri through the race weekend, and he continued: “He built up through the weekend, and honestly, talking to him on camera and off camera, he was feeling much happier about things.

“Look, he’s not back to that peak, Oscar, nailing it, utter confidence in the car.

“But he felt like he was back in the fight, and it wouldn’t be just another case of damage limitation.

“I think there was real frustration in the race that obviously started from P5, he fell back, clawed those positions back, but I think that actually the way he handled this race showed that he has got the pace again.

“I think that he’s found something in the car that gives him that confidence, and actually going into Qatar, on paper, he’s level with Max Verstappen, and that’s never ideal when you’ve got a driver of that quality, but he’s actually closer to Lando than he would have been without this disqualification.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

Oscar Piastri must unleash his full potential at the Qatar Grand Prix to win the championship

The maths is simple for Norris going into the next race in Qatar: if he finishes in the top six of the Sprint and wins Sunday’s Grand Prix, then he will be the 2025 Formula 1 world champion.

That takes it out of Verstappen and Piastri’s hands, but the Australian will know he’s got a trick up his sleeve.

Firstly, his result in Las Vegas would have been better had he not been caught out by a late yellow flag in qualifying brought out by Charles Leclerc before Piastri was hit by Liam Lawson on the opening lap.

Although that did minimal damage to his car, it immediately put him out of position, and he struggled for the rest of the race.

Piastri has an incredible record in Qatar, winning the Sprint Race in 2023 and finishing on the podium in both Grand Prix that he’s raced in at the Lusail circuit.

Only Verstappen (83) has outscored Piastri in Qatar, despite the fact that he wasn’t on the Formula 1 grid for the 2021 edition.

He must use that to his advantage; otherwise, his championship hopes will be extinguished before Abu Dhabi.