‘Struggling’ Oscar Piastri has done something in F1 title fight that proves he’s ‘human’ after all

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McLaren racer Oscar Piastri can become the first Australian to win the F1 drivers’ title since 1980, yet his 2025 championship bid has stuttered through the past five rounds.

Only two Australians have ever won the F1 drivers’ championship, with Jack Brabham taking the title in 1959, 1960 and 1966, while Alan Jones won the title in 1980. Piastri is now trying to join the exclusive group in what is only his third year on the Formula 1 grid with McLaren.

But what was a 34-point lead atop the standings over McLaren teammate Lando Norris after round 15 of this year’s 24 is now a one-point deficit after 20 rounds. Norris and Red Bull star Max Verstappen have also outscored Piastri in each of the past five rounds of the 2025 term.

Piastri held his biggest lead atop the 2025 championship to date after Norris retired from P2 in the Dutch Grand Prix in August due to an oil leak. Yet the wheels have fallen off his wagon since McLaren told Piastri to give P2 back to Norris in the Italian Grand Prix during round 16.

Emanuele Pirro likes that Oscar Piastri is showing ‘human error’ after losing his ‘composure’

After F1’s visit to Monza in September, Piastri crashed out of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as he failed to forget having jumped the start, as well as a crash in qualifying. McLaren’s refusal to intrude also saw Piastri throw a strop after Norris made contact in the Singapore Grand Prix.

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

Piastri crashed into Norris at the start of the COTA Sprint, too, and was 0.588 seconds shy of his teammate’s pace as he got pole for the Mexico City Grand Prix. But while Emanuele Pirro believes Piastri has “lost his composure”, he is happy to see the Australian’s “human” errors.

“It’s an exciting and completely unpredictable duel,” Pirro told Motorsport.com. “We see a Lando Norris on the attack, and an Oscar Piastri struggling slightly. The Australian seems to have lost his composure.

“I like the idea that these guys, who are so fast, show some human error. It’s not a trivial or obvious aspect. We’ve been told that Oscar might have struggled on the recent low-grip, hot circuits, but that won’t always be the case.”

Oscar Piastri’s mental strength was widely described as an advantage over Lando Norris

Piastri’s recent plight through the past five rounds, which has seen Pirro feel the 24-year-old has lost his composure, comes in stark contrast to the first 15 rounds of the 2025 F1 season. The Australian was widely lauded for his composure upon him emerging as a title contender.

Norris’ mental strength was widely portrayed as a weakness compared to Piastri’s, in fact, as the 25-year-old struggled to match his teammate’s results, especially during qualifying. Nico Rosberg and Martin Brundle likened Piastri to Kimi Raikkonen as recently as September, too.

It will now be crucial for Piastri’s title bid, having fallen behind Norris in the standings for the first time since April, that the Melbourne native discovers his composure again. Even if Pirro, a six-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner including five outright wins, likes to see some mistakes.