Oscar Piastri seems to be intimidated by one F1 driver and it could cost him the 2025 title

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Oscar Piastri has lost the lead in the 2025 F1 drivers’ standings for the first time since April, as Lando Norris and Max Verstappen have been outscoring him hand over fist.

The past five rounds have seen Norris and Verstappen destroy 34 and 104-point deficits to Piastri in the F1 drivers’ championship, having each fallen to their largest deficits of the 2025 season so far. Now, Norris leads Piastri by just one point, with Verstappen 36 behind in third.

Norris’ retirement from the Dutch Grand Prix due to an oil leak saw the Briton slip 34 points behind his McLaren teammate at Zandvoort in August. Yet he flew under the radar while the momentum was with Verstappen to top the tree for the first time since round five out of 24.

Verstappen took full advantage of Red Bull’s continued floor and front wing upgrades to win in Italy, Azerbaijan and the USA, as well as to finish in front of the McLaren pair in Singapore. Norris won the Mexico City Grand Prix to also outscore Piastri for a fifth round in succession.

Oscar Piastri must prove he is not intimidated by Max Verstappen to win the 2025 F1 title

Ever since McLaren told Piastri to give Norris P2 in the Italian Grand Prix, the 24-year-old has struggled. The next race saw Piastri crash out of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after jumping the start and crashing in qualifying, and he crashed into Norris at the start of the Sprint at COTA.

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

Now, if Piastri is to become the first Australian to win an F1 title since Alan Jones in 1980, the Melbourne native must respond. And there will be no better way for Piastri to respond than by proving that he is not intimidated by Verstappen on his return to Brazil on November 7-9.

The 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix will mark a year since Piastri put up absolutely no defence as Verstappen rose from P17 to win the 2024 Sao Paulo GP. Verstappen caught Piastri for P7 on Lap 9 of 70 last November, and he simply drove by into Turn 1 as if he was racing on his own.

Verstappen was 0.364 seconds behind Piastri when he moved to the inside for T1, where the Red Bull racer had already proven there was more grip than on the normal racing line during his initial rise up the order. Yet Piastri never reacted and Verstappen then simply drove away.

Max Verstappen has had an edge over Oscar Piastri since the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix

The past year since F1’s last visit to the Sao Paulo GP has seldom seen Piastri show that the McLaren man is not intimidated by Red Bull racer Verstappen, either. They have rarely been in genuine on-track battles so far in the 2025 F1 season, and even less often has Piastri won.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Other than when Verstappen drew a five-second penalty in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for leaving the track and gaining an advantage after refusing to accept that Piastri had taken the lead at the start, the Dutchman has frequently continued to get the better of the Australian.

Former Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski felt Verstappen made Piastri look like he was driving an F2 car at Imola when the Red Bull man simply drove around his outside at the start. Piastri braked early to block George Russell, so Verstappen filled the space that he left.

The only time that Piastri has truly gotten the better of Verstappen in an on-track duel so far in the 2025 season was in the Miami Grand Prix in May. Yet while Piastri produced a decisive move on Verstappen in Miami, they were not in a genuine battle and finished 39.956s apart.