Oscar Piastri’s camp believe he’s ‘come off worse’ from McLaren decisions ‘far too often’ in 2025

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Oscar Piastri knows that he’s unlikely to win the F1 world championship this weekend. Without a retirement, precedent suggests he won’t overturn Lando Norris’ 16-point lead.

In fact, Piastri could be asked to help Norris during Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix if Max Verstappen is on course to snatch the title. McLaren would only do this if the Australian was out of realistic contention.

If indeed he does lose out, then Piastri and his team will be left reflecting on how a 34-point lead slipped away between rounds 15 and 24.

McLaren say Piastri struggled on low-grip circuits like Azerbaijan, Mexico and Las Vegas, while Norris hit top form. But perhaps the 2023 debutant isn’t entirely at fault.

Oscar Piastri’s team feel a sense of injustice before Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

At the opening round of the season in Australia, Piastri was told not to attack Norris when the two drivers navigated traffic. He later spun out in treacherous conditions and finished ninth, while his teammate won the race.

The pit wall came under far more scrutiny after Monza, when they instructed Piastri to give up second place after Norris’ slow pit stop. He had been allowed to pit first from P3.

Two rounds later in Singapore, McLaren allowed Norris to retain second despite making contact with Piastri during a first-corner overtake. The team later recognised that the move was overly aggressive, but this didn’t help driver #81 recover the lost points.

“They certainly feel, on the Piastri side, that Piastri has come off worse far too often this season,” ESPN journalist Nate Saunders, who spoke to Mark Webber in Qatar, said on the Unlapped podcast. “I don’t think there’s been too much malicious in it, but that’s clearly in their heads.

“That alone is why Piastri is going into this race in a really interesting headspace. It maybe complicates things down the line for McLaren if the finishing order is a certain way.”

Make no mistake: Oscar Piastri ‘genuinely loves being at McLaren’

Webber, Piastri’s manager, has experienced a three-way title decider before. He arrived at the 2010 Abu Dhabi GP only eight points adrift, but finished a disastrous eighth as teammate Sebastian Vettel came from third to steal the trophy.

It’s believed that Webber is planning ‘tough talks’ with McLaren over the winter break. But this certainly doesn’t mean that Piastri is seeking an exit.

On the contrary, he’s ‘very happy’ at Woking, having signed a contract extension in March. McLaren have won the last two constructors’ titles, so his seat is perhaps the most coveted on the grid.

Saunders said: “From everything I know… everyone talks about Mark Webber and how he’s not going to let anything like that happen, Piastri does genuinely love being at McLaren. From all the stuff [that’s happened] this season, he’s very, very happy at that team.”