Oscar Piastri told he still lacks one ‘essential’ trait to become an F1 champion

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Oscar Piastri led the 2025 F1 drivers’ championship for 71% of the season yet finished the year third in the standings, as his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, won the title.

The McLaren duo controlled the drivers’ championship from start to finish in 2025, as Norris led for a total of 77 days and Piastri led the standings for 189. Norris dethroned Red Bull star Max Verstappen from the top after 1,029 days when he won the season-opener in Australia.

Verstappen even failed to lead the F1 drivers’ standings at any stage of a season for the first time since 2020, yet he still nearly stole the 2025 title. Norris denied Verstappen by just two points after 24 Grands Prix and six F1 Sprints, as Piastri finished third with a 13-point deficit.

Finish the sentence: In his Formula 1 career, Oscar PIastri will win ____ titles

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Oscar Piastri lacked the ‘consistency’ to win the 2025 F1 drivers’ title

Norris regained the lead of the 2025 standings from Piastri in Mexico City after he won from pole position during round 20 out of 24. Piastri had led the way since he won in Saudi Arabia in round five, and had even led by 34 points after winning the Dutch Grand Prix in round 15.

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

Christian Danner thinks Piastri’s lack of consistency during the run-in ultimately cost the 24-year-old his first F1 title in 2025. Norris outscored Piastri in each of the six rounds after the Dutch GP, and Verstappen outscored him over the final nine to overturn a 104-point deficit.

“He’s still the rookie compared to Norris and Verstappen,” Danner told sport.de. “He’s had a lot to learn, which is essential in a major championship battle.

“That includes a certain consistency, which he lost a bit in the final quarter of the race. But he recovered and was top-notch in the end. That’s why the three-way fight for the championship was so fascinating, despite all the problems the drivers had.”

Oscar Piastri was Mr Consistent in 2025 until McLaren’s team orders at Monza

Piastri had shown tremendous consistency across the first two-thirds of the 2025 season to take control of the drivers’ championship. The Australian finished on the podium during 14 of the first 16 Grands Prix, but he would only take a further two podiums across the final eight.

READ MORE: 2025 F1 teammate head-to-heads, including Grand Prix and Sprint results

Is qualifying Oscar Piastri’s biggest weakness?

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Norris also secured 13 podiums during the first 16 Grands Prix, and he would have taken 14 were it not for his retirement from the Dutch GP due to an oil fitting failure. The Briton was running in P2 at Zandvoort, where Piastri secured what would be the last of his seven wins.

Piastri’s season hit freefall from the following round at Monza, and he only recovered once F1 went to the high-grip circuits in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to finish the year. McLaren telling Piastri to give Norris back P2 in the Italian Grand Prix seemed to spark his demise in 2025.

Now, Danner is not the only pundit to suggest that Piastri needs to improve if he is to fight Norris and Verstappen for future titles. Guenther Steiner thinks Piastri only has himself “to blame” for losing the 2025 F1 title, having produced “nothing” between rounds 17 and 22.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown is convinced that Piastri can win a title, potentially even in 2026 as F1 introduces new regulations, as he could easily have won the 2025 championship. But the Melbourne native will not be able to afford to replicate his struggles in the 2025 title run-in.