oscar piastri He is adamant that despite the resurgence he is still a favorite for the 2025 Formula 1 world title max verstappen – What he believes is no more a matter of concern than before.
Verstappen dominated from pole at the United States Grand Prix on Sunday to take his third win from four ahead of runner up lando norris Whose teammate and title rival Piastri finished fifth.
It means Piastri now leads the championship by just 14 points over second-placed Norris with five rounds remaining, while Verstappen is third and 40 points off the top.
But just four races ago, the Dutch GP which Piastri won, the Australian led Norris and Verstappen by 34 and 104 points respectively, so the situation has changed dramatically.
This came as Red Bull brought a series of upgrades to Monza, the race after Zandvoort, which has allowed Verstappen to battle the already dominant McLaren and become F1’s most in-form driver.
Yet Piastri has not been performing well, finishing third in Italy, losing in Baku, fourth in Singapore and consistently falling short in Austin. This included taking him and Norris out on lap one of the sprint competition, which Verstappen also won from pole.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Peter Fox/Getty Images
“I would rather still be where I am than the other two,” Piastri said. “Obviously this weekend didn’t go how I wanted or expected.
This weekend has been quite different from the last couple: Baku was obviously a disaster for very different reasons and Singapore was the same. So I think this weekend has been a bit strange compared to others.”
Verstappen looks almost untouched and mclaren Struggling to find answers, Piastri is still focused on returning to the form that saw him win four of his first six Grands Prix.
Asked if Verstappen is more of a concern now than ever, nine-time race winner Piastri said: “Not necessarily. He’s obviously there and he’s fast, but the biggest focus for me is just to try to figure out why this weekend was tough and try and get back to the form we had earlier in the season.
“So that’s my biggest focus and if we can get that going again the results will take care of themselves.”
Verstappen is a four-time world champion and it is that experience that many believe gives him the edge over the McLaren drivers, who are both in their first real F1 title fight.
oscar piastri, mclaren
Photo by: Sam Bloxham/LAT Images via Getty Images
Yet Piastri is a champion at junior level, having won both the F2 and F3 championships, so he believes this is “proof for me that things can still go good and I still believe I can win championships”.
So when the 24-year-old, who is in his third year of F1, was asked if Verstappen had a psychological edge, Piastri said: “Not necessarily. He’s obviously done well in the last few races, but ultimately if we can find our way again, find our rhythm, and certainly for me, find the momentum again, then I have no big concerns.
“There’s still a long way to go in the championship, it still is for Max anyway. He’s obviously chased it very quickly, but there’s still five rounds left and that’s no small difference.
“So I think if we can find our momentum again, things will fall into place.”
