Zak Brown issues clear verdict on Oscar Piastri’s 2026 F1 title hopes after Lando Norris’ 2025 win

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Oscar Piastri led the 2025 F1 drivers’ championship for 71% of the year, but he had to settle for third in the standings as his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, won the title.

Red Bull ace Max Verstappen split the papaya pals in the standings at the end of the year, as Norris denied the Dutchman a fifth consecutive title by just two points. Piastri finished 2025 with a 13-point deficit to his McLaren teammate, as they recorded 423, 421 and 410 points.

Norris became the first person to kick Verstappen off the top of the F1 drivers’ standings for 1,029 days when he won the 2025 season-opening Australian Grand Prix this March. But he only led for 35 days before Piastri took over after his win in Saudi Arabia in round five of 24.

Piastri would lead the way for 189 days, until Norris regained the lead for the final 42 days of the 2025 F1 season when he won in Mexico City in round 20. Norris won the 2025 F1 title to become the 11th British champion, while Australia’s wait for its first title since 1980 persists.

Zak Brown backs Oscar Piastri to fight for the 2026 F1 title after his near-miss in 2025

McLaren CEO Zak Brown believes Piastri could easily have won the 2025 F1 drivers’ title, but the Melbourne native endured “some challenges” in the middle of the year that derailed his championship. Still, Brown feels Piastri should not be disappointed with his results this year.

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

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

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Now, if Piastri can improve the “very few” areas he lacks, Brown has no doubt that he could fight for the drivers’ title in 2026. Next season could yield a change to the pecking order due to the 2026 F1 regulations, but Brown is confident that Piastri will win his first title one day.

Brown told Radio X: “Oscar did an unbelievable job over the winter. I think the two of them helped raise each other’s game and raise the team’s game. So, that’s a great thing.

“You lead the championship early on, and there’s a big difference between being the hunted and the hunter, and it’s such a long season. He had some challenges in the middle of the year, and then came back super strong.

“So, I’m excited already for next year, because I think Oscar’s going to go back to Australia. He’s a very tough, very focused individual. He has very few areas he needs to improve. I think you should watch out for Oscar Piastri next year…

“He’s disappointed [to lose out on the title]. I don’t think he’s disappointed in the season. He should be very proud, he won seven races, even in qualifying, either of them could have won the championship…

“It’s only his third full season, and for Lando, this was his seventh season. So, Oscar’s going to be a world champion, and it could be next year.”

Oscar Piastri lost the 2025 F1 title with his collapse after McLaren’s team orders at Monza

Piastri finished the 2025 season with seven of his nine career Grand Prix wins, plus 16 of his 26 career podiums and all six of his career pole positions so far. Only Verstappen (8) sealed more wins, and he and Norris also registered more poles (8 and 7) than Piastri during 2025.

READ MORE: Every error that cost Lando Norris points in his failed 2024 F1 title challenge

Norris reached the most Grand Prix podiums during 2025 with 18, ahead of Piastri’s 16 and Verstappen with 15. But Piastri paid the price for his wobble between round 17 in Baku and round 22 in Las Vegas, which round 16 in Italy at Monza played a major factor in triggering.

McLaren told Piastri to give P2 back to Norris in the Italian Grand Prix, having undercut the Briton who the team had assured would remain ahead if he let the Australian stop first but then had a slower pit stop. Piastri disagreed with the swap at the time but agreed to do so.

Then, Piastri crashed out of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, on a weekend when he also crashed during qualifying and jumped the start of the race. Also, Piastri struggled to get over Norris making contact during the Singapore Grand Prix, when they banged wheels fighting for P3.

Additionally, McLaren blamed Piastri for the COTA Sprint crash with Norris, as he sought an aggressive cutback at the start of the dash in Texas. The 24-year-old also struggled on low-grip tracks in Mexico City, Sao Paulo and Las Vegas, before then finally recovering in Qatar.

It also did not help either of the papaya pals that Norris and Piastri recorded McLaren’s first-ever double disqualification in Las Vegas, as the stewards found their underfloor skid blocks sustained excessive wear. McLaren’s strategic mistake in Qatar even cost Piastri a likely win.