Piastri makes life awkward for Verstappen… and Norris

Fifteen years since an Australian last led the Formula One World Championship, Oscar Piastri stands atop the drivers’ standings.

The last Aussie in that ­position, Mark Webber, is aptly also the ­architect of Piastri’s current position – at least partially.

Sought out in racing retirement by his countryman’s parents, Chris and Nicole, to manage their son’s career, Webber was key in persuading Piastri to pick McLaren over other suitors as the right place to make him champion.

It was a bold call when they were well off the pace, and Piastri would nearly finish rock bottom in his first pre-season test in 2023.

Webber’s advice was simple: “I said to Oscar, the position is shocking but the gap is not. It’s a second and a half. If you start to get things right, the curve of cutting through the grid can be quite impressive.”

Webber’s words have proved prescient and Piastri is the deserved championship leader, having helped turn his team from back-markers into the sport’s dominant force.

After three grands prix there had been three different race winners – four if you include Lewis Hamilton’s sprint race win in China.

Now, though, when racing resumes next weekend, Piastri heads to Miami bidding for a hat-trick of victories after a hugely impressive start to the season which has marked him out as the early title favourite, despite his inexperience compared with the drivers breathing down his neck.

His biggest gripe since his home race in Australia has been a water bottle malfunction in his car in Bahrain. He joked that having running water at the subsequent race in Saudi Arabia was the team’s biggest upgrade.

On the surface, Piastri seems unflappable. His cool, calm exchanges over the team radio with race engineer Tom Stallard, a former Olympic rowing medallist for Team GB, coupled with a lack of errors on track, have even earned the plaudits of Max Verstappen.

After their battle for the win in Jeddah last weekend, the Dutchman said: “He’s very calm in his approach, and I like that. It shows on track. He delivers when he has to, barely makes mistakes and that’s what you need when you want to fight for the championship.”

This was high praise from Verstappen, who was otherwise tight-lipped in the aftermath of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix despite clearly being riled by a five-second penalty which he believed cost him the win, preferring to keep his counsel rather than incur the wrath of the sport’s governing body, the FIA.

Whether Verstappen now sees Piastri as his main championship rival is a good question. But in a team of two No1s, the Australian has clearly been the quickest over the course of the first five races of 2025.

McLaren’s other driver, Lando Norris, has had a difficult season since winning the first race in Australia, although it is not that he has suddenly gone from a championship contender to a dud.

Instead, he is struggling to get to grips fully with his car, in particular a lack of front grip which is not in ­keeping with his driving style.

The struggles have been particularly noticeable in qualifying, as he pushes the car to the limit, putting him in a position where he has ­subsequently had to scrap his way back up the field in the races.