Valtteri Bottas makes ‘not fair’ claim about Oscar Piastri’s 2025 McLaren title charge

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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is the only Australian driver on the 2026 Formula 1 grid, but Cadillac’s new star Valtteri Bottas is trying his best to become an adopted Aussie.

Valtteri Bottas spends a lot of time Down Under as his partner, Tiffany Cromwell, is Australian.

The Australian Grand Prix, being the season opener, should mean a lot of love for Bottas and Oscar Piastri, but whether they see each other much on track this year is yet to be seen.

The last time Bottas finished ahead of Piastri on track was at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix, when the Finn snuck into the top 10 while the McLaren driver finished 12th during his rookie season.

Prove me wrong: McLaren do not need to change their papaya rules for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri

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Cadillac have completed their first shakedown run ahead of the 2026 season, but very few people are predicting them to be in the same ballpark as McLaren.

Piastri will be looking to recover from a tricky end to 2025 when he saw his championship aspirations slip away.

Bottas has now addressed how last season ended for the 24-year-old and made an exciting prediction heading into next season.

READ MORE: Cadillac driver Valtteri Bottas’ life outside F1 from girlfriend to wine and gin

Valtteri Bottas says Oscar Piastri is doing ‘amazing’ at this stage of his F1 career

It was put to Bottas by Australian news site 10 News that McLaren potentially wanted Norris to win over Piastri last season, and he responded: “It’s hard to say when you’re not inside, when you’re not with the team and what’s going on internally.

”All I know is that sometimes this sport’s not fair, and that’s what it is. I think Oscar had a great season, but his first half was definitely better than his second half.

“He’s still only had a few years in this sport, so it’s amazing that he’s already doing so well.

“He’s got a great future ahead of him, many opportunities ahead of him, so, if he had himself a bit of a dip, I’m sure he’s learned from it.”

The Finn was then asked about Piastri now being his competitor and whether he still wanted him to do well in 2026, and he continued: “If somebody’s going to win, I’m rooting for my fellow Aussie!”

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

Oscar Piastri has made his feelings clear on McLaren’s papaya rules

McLaren were the dominant team on the grid last season, but they nearly threw the drivers’ championship away in their efforts to be fair to both drivers.

Piastri appeared to be on the more difficult side of several decisions by McLaren during the second half of the campaign.

He had to move over for Norris at Monza, and the British driver wasn’t immediately punished for making contact with Piastri on the first lap in Singapore.

Piastri’s camp wasn’t always happy with his treatment, and it will be interesting to see if that approach changes this year.

If the Australian can build up a big enough advantage over Norris, then McLaren might have to back him if any of their rival teams are still in championship contention.

Andrea Stella has suggested Piastri had no issues with the team orders, but there might always be a question mark in the back of the 24-year-old’s head that he might get better treatment with another team on the grid.