Oscar Piastri had been in front of the 2025 F1 drivers’ championship standings for most of the season, but after a rough weekend in Mexico City, some are starting to write off his title chances.
The 24-year-old Australian lost his lead at the top of the table on Sunday, with teammate Lando Norris moving ahead after a strong showing. Norris’s win put him just one point clear, taking over a spot that Piastri had held since early in the year.
Norris secured pole position with a 1:15.586 lap and has outperformed Piastri over recent rounds. Verstappen has also closed in, cutting into Piastri’s early-season advantage over both McLarens.
Piastri missed an opportunity to capitalise further during the Sprint race earlier in Mexico City too, where he only finished fifth and scored just four points. Verstappen took victory there to close out another profitable event for Red Bull.
Oscar Piastri told he’s ‘done’ in the F1 title fight after losing his ‘trust’ with McLaren’s car
Tim Coronel now believes that Piastri’s title hopes are over, predicting that Norris and Verstappen will be the ones to contest the championship across the final four races in Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The Sao Paulo and Qatar weekends will also feature the last Sprints of 2025.
Piastri didn’t make the most of McLaren’s potential in America, and he admitted during the Mexico weekend that he has been struggling to adapt at certain circuits this year.
Coronel explained to RacingNews365: “Once you have that in your head, as a driver, what I call trust, once it’s broken, just look at all the drivers who have sat next to Max, it’s not going to be OK. So, I really think it’s not going to be OK.
“And especially as long as Norris is on a roll. He’s such a hot guy, he’s really coming into his own. He’s getting his points these days. That’s just going to break [Piastri] down further. That’s not going to work. No, Piastri is done. Sorry to the fans.”
Oscar Piastri admits he can’t figure out how to get the most out of the McLaren MCL39
Piastri has dropped points to Norris and Verstappen in each of the last five rounds. The Australian crashed in Azerbaijan, struggled after a collision with his teammate in Singapore, hit Norris again during the COTA Sprint, and couldn’t find form all weekend in Mexico.
Before his P8 qualifying result and fifth-place finish at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Jacques Villeneuve raised concerns that Piastri might be feeling the pressure of the title fight. The Australian’s trouble setting up the MCL39 for races in America and Mexico didn’t help matters.
“It’s certainly been a learning experience, for sure,” Piastri said after Sunday’s race, speaking to ESPN. “For some reason, the last couple of weekends have required a very different way of driving, and what’s worked well for me in the last 19 races has needed something very different.”
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Norris didn’t face those same issues at COTA or Mexico City. He outqualified Piastri for both Sprints and Grands Prix over those weekends, finishing 0.309s ahead at COTA Sprint Qualifying and 0.588s ahead in Mexico.
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