From Down Under to top of the table: Piastri jumps into the championship lead

In Australia Max Verstappen lost his spot as F1 championship leader after 1092 days to McLaren driver Lando Norris. Four more races have been checked off by now, and Norris’ championship lead was of short notice. It has been an almost perfect start to the season for fellow McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri. The Australian leaves Jeddah as F1’s new championship leader!

2023 saw the reigning F2 champion get the step-up to solid F1 midfield contenders McLaren. The young Australian immediately showcased raw speed, but a lack of consistency in terms of qualifying pace and race management hampered a challenge to his teammate in his inaugural season. After the Saudi Arabian GP last weekend, however, no one shall doubt that Oscar Piastri is a top title contender in the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Piastri comes around as winner of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, retrieved from Formula1.com.

Oscar Piastri’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

A rocket ship, that was the general description of McLaren’s machine by many people in the F1 paddock ahead of qualifying. A shock then, it was, when reigning world champion Max Verstappen took pole position on Saturday in his Red Bull, just 0.010 seconds clear of second place, Oscar Piastri. Championship leader Lando Norris binned his McLaren in the wall and had to recover from a tenth starting position, once more the fastest street track in the world claimed its victims.

The game commenced and Verstappen saw Piastri edge alongside his RB21 into the first braking zone. Controversy struck as Piastri went deep into turn 1 yet kept his McLaren on the road. On the contrary, Verstappen decided he was better off cutting the second turn to remain in the lead. Whether or not Piastri was ahead of Max heading into this corner sequence remains up for debate, but the officials did put the blame on the Dutchman for keeping the position and provided him with a 5 second time penalty. After a Safety Car period, Oscar Piastri seemed to have fallen asleep at the wheel of his McLaren as he reacted extremely late to Max’s acceleration off the final corner. This allowed the Red Bull driver to build up a gap throughout the first stint.

After the pit stops, Piastri took over the lead from Verstappen as the Dutchman remained stationary for an extra five seconds due to the penalty he received on lap 1. The McLaren then fired up with the clear track ahead, but Piastri was kept honest by Max. After a well-managed final stint, however, the Australian driver took his fifth career win, third of the season, and took over the championship lead from teammate Norris who finished in fourth.

The lap 1 incident between Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, retrieved from Red Bull Content Pool.

"I need to find a couch,” said the winner of the Saudi Arabian GP after the race, emphasizing how physically demanding this racetrack truly is. Where Max Verstappen remained silent around the lap 1 incident, stating that “it is what it is,” Piastri commented: “I’m very, very happy to have won. Made the difference at the start. Made my case into Turn 1, and that was enough.”

Is Piastri ready for a title fight?

With a struggling Red Bull team, who are being carried by the brilliance of Max Verstappen in 2025, and a faltering Lando Norris in the quickest car, it is Oscar Piastri who puts together the most intriguing performances in 2025 so far. Aside from a mistake in a wet Australian GP that saw the McLaren driver fly off the track to ultimately finish in ninth, Oscar has been on the podium in all races so far. The 24-year-old has a ten point buffer to Lando Norris and is twelve points clear of Max Verstappen in the championship. On previous occasions, Piastri had been called out for weak tire management, lacking fuel efficiency, or, in his very first races, lack of qualifying pace. One by one has the Australian improved on his weaknesses, matching or beating his teammate in qualifying more frequently, last year on tough tracks for tire wear like Hungary and Baku he showcased the improvements made in terms of race management. All in all, Oscar Piastri is currently one of the most complete drivers on the grid. Considering he disposes over the fastest machinery, there is no doubt that he is a contender for the world title in 2025.

Piastri could become the first Austalian champion since Alan Jones did it in 1980 for the Williams team. The biggest challenge is probably yet to come, however, as Red Bull is working hard to upgrade their car throughout the year. Saudi was already much better for the Austrian outfit than the Bahrain Grand Prix one week prior. Considering the eagerness and sheer speed with which Verstappen currently pushes his Red Bull throughout the weekends, he might be Piastri’s biggest threat for the title this year. Finally, Norris is no slouch either. After two tricky weekends, the Brit gets two weeks to recharge himself ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, which he won last year. As long as Norris is not completely broken mentally, he is still posing a challenge to his McLaren teammate for the 2025 title. But it has to be said, Piastri takes on the role of favorite after the first five F1 races this season.