Oscar Piastri told he’s still not on the same level as three F1 drivers despite leading the standings

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Oscar Piastri could win the Formula 1 world championship in just his third season. But Christijan Albers says he still isn’t one of the ‘absolute top drivers’ on the grid.

Piastri won his first Grand Prix midway through his sophomore year and has taken a major leap in 2025, too. He’s won seven races, two more than any other driver, and has now reached 40 career podiums.

The Australian was largely flawless prior to the summer break, but hasn’t been on top form since. During what was perhaps the most disastrous weekend of his career, he crashed out of qualifying and the race in Azerbaijan.

In Saturday’s US Grand Prix Sprint, Piastri and Norris crashed. Though it was ruled a racing incident, Martin Brundle said the championship leader had taken a ‘huge’ risk by aggressively cutting back.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris told they’re not ‘absolute top drivers’

Writing in a column for De Telegraaf, former Minardi F1 driver Albers suggested that the McLaren duo weren’t ‘getting the most’ out of the car. This has allowed Max Verstappen to come back into the title race.

Verstappen’s victory in the USA Sprint, in combination with McLaren’s double DNF, saw him close the gap to 55 points – a margin that’s starting to become worrying.

Albers still isn’t convinced that Piastri and teammate Norris are in the group of F1’s ‘absolute top drivers’. He puts four-time champion Verstappen above them, along with George Russell and Charles Leclerc.

Jenson Button says Russell has been as good as any driver this year. And former teammate Carlos Sainz believes that Leclerc is faster than Verstappen over one lap.

“In my opinion, there’s a lot wrong operationally, and the drivers aren’t getting the most out of themselves either,” Albers wrote. “I think the gap should have been much bigger with Verstappen.

“That’s not to say Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are bad drivers. But I don’t think they’re among the absolute top drivers. For me, there are three drivers who stand out right now: Verstappen, George Russell, and Charles Leclerc.”

Christijan Albers sees through Oscar Piastri’s ‘cool guy’ image

Piastri has been likened to Kimi Raikkonen, who was dubbed the ‘Iceman’ because he never seemed to feel pressure. But that reputation is being tested as the stakes of the title battle increase.

He may be called a ‘cool guy’, but Albers says this reflects his ‘charisma’ off the track. On it, he hasn’t been impressed by the 24-year-old’s last two performances.

“With Norris, you see a clear pattern on many weekends,” he wrote. “He often starts well, but then regularly slumps.

“You see it regularly in qualifying. If Verstappen puts in a good first lap in Q3, Norris gets nervous and starts making mistakes.

“And everyone always says Piastri is such a cool guy, but that’s mainly about his charisma. In Baku, he crashed twice, had a false start, and I didn’t think he was strong in Singapore either. There, he simply let Norris take over.”

According to engineer Tom Stallard, Piastri knows this is his chance to win the title, with major regulation changes this winter making the future particularly unpredictable. Still, McLaren accept that it’s ‘dangerous’ to take too many risks.