Former F1 driver sees a title-winning difference between Versappen and Piastri

09:40, 06 Jun

byOlly Darcy

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer believes Oscar Piastri is mentally stronger than Max Verstappen, as he is yet to see the Australian make any "pressure mistake" compared to the Dutchman.

Piastri currently leads the world championship after nine races of the 2025 season, holding a ten-point lead over teammate Lando Norris, along with a 49-point lead over four-time world champion Verstappen.

Last year, the Australian mainly excelled in his racecraft, which again has been a fantastic feature of his driving in 2025. But his qualifying pace this campaign, along with his tyre management and race execution, has allowed him to open up this lead in the title battle.

Piastri and Verstappen battling each other at the Miami Grand Prix.

Piastri's calm nature garners major praise

"We saw last year that Oscar Piastri is very capable of putting results together, as he claimed his first Grand Prix victories in Budapest and Baku, and narrowly fell short in Monza after a well-managed race," Palmer started explaining in his column for Formula1.com.

"As much as his talent was apparent, I still wouldn’t have predicted the step up he’s made this year to become the championship favourite after the first third of the season."

"Oscar also seems to have the calmest head, certainly that I can remember, in Formula 1," he adds. "It's still early stages in his career, and we haven't yet seen him under title-deciding pressure, but the man is insanely calm with whatever is going on around him. Kimi Räikkönen was known as 'The Iceman', but I've even seen him more animated than Oscar. That can only be a strength to stay so composed."

Why is Piastri 'more complete' than Verstappen?

Due to that calm nature, the former Renault driver believes there is a clear distinction between Piastri and defending champion Verstappen.

"I’ve yet to see him make pressure mistakes, and you can’t imagine him squandering points due to red mist, as Verstappen did on Sunday," Palmer explains after the Dutchman's ten-second time penalty in Barcelona.

"He’s not been perfect this season. In Melbourne, he was unlucky to lose a heap of points going off in the rain, but he was napping for the Imola start when he got passed by Verstappen, and was a bit scrappy in Monaco too. There have been enough chances for Lando to stay in the hunt, and the title battle remains close, with Oscar just ten points to the good.

"But from what I’ve seen so far, Oscar absolutely has the makeup of a champion, in a season where he’s turned his weaknesses into strengths," the F1 analyst believes.