For all the pre-season hype around Lando Norris being the 2025 title favorite—after his pursuit of Max Verstappen in last year’s championship—Oscar Piastri has firmly shut down that narrative with a dominant start to this season. Beyond the results, it’s Piastri’s calm and measured approach on track that’s earning widespread praise.
Despite suffering a major setback at his home race in Australia—where he spun out of the top three in rainy conditions and lost a potential victory—Piastri has bounced back with a string of flawless performances. With four wins, two pole positions, and five consecutive podiums in just six rounds, the Aussie has firmly established himself as a force to be reckoned with.
The fact that Piastri has moved past his gut-wrenching defeat in Melbourne to stay focused on his championship challenge reminded F1 journalist Tom Clarkson of Roger Federer’s famous speech at Dartmouth College. “You have to park it [the setbacks], come back, and only think about the next point. Because otherwise, you can’t dwell on disappointment,” Clarkson recalled on the F1 Nation podcast. He feels Piastri is a master at doing just that.
The 24-year-old has often shown his psychological strength in handling tough situations and doesn’t flinch or react abruptly to negative events that hamper his progress. In 2025, this composure has helped him take the championship lead and even rattle his main title rival, Verstappen.
“I think Piastri does that brilliantly, almost better than any other driver, even Max Verstappen – the god-like Max Verstappen this year. He gets angry and he gets frustrated, we don’t see that with Piastri,” Clarkson added.
He also stated that Verstappen has been dealing with a lot of frustration since last year, owing to Red Bull’s cascading problems with their car. With balance and pace issues still persisting in the 2025 campaign, it’s understandable that the reigning world champion has been quite vocal about his feelings.
However, Clarkson believes that even in such situations, Piastri won’t lose his composure and will only respond after collecting his thoughts. Even when he’s missed out on pole or endured a tough qualifying session, the Melbourne-born driver has returned on race day with a fresh mindset to deliver a brilliant result. Verstappen himself has praised him for that.
“He’s very solid, very calm in his approach, and I like that”
Max Verstappen is full of praise for 2025 championship rival, Oscar Piastri #F1 pic.twitter.com/F5WaRTTtzk
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 26, 2025
F1 TV lead presenter Laura Winter also noted that Piastri is able to “compartmentalize” his mistakes and setbacks, preventing negative thoughts from taking over. In contrast, his teammate Norris has often been seen berating himself after tough sessions—something that hasn’t helped him maintain a positive mindset or deliver consistent top results.
Despite having competed in 82 fewer races than Norris, Piastri has more race wins to his name. This serves as clear evidence that he is gradually growing stronger than Norris with each passing weekend.
As the European leg of the season begins, Piastri leads the championship by 16 points over Norris, with Verstappen a further 16 points behind. Yet, the #81 driver shows no signs of complacency, keeping his head down and staying focused on his ultimate goal—winning the world championship.
