Speaking to 10 News in Adelaide, Australia, where he hosted a RADL GRVL event with Australian professional cyclist and partner Tiffany Cromwell, the Fin nonetheless backed Piastri to learn from the title fight, adding that he has a "great future ahead of him."

After victory at Zandvoort in August, Piastri had a comfortable 34-point lead on teammate Lando Norris, and a 104-point margin to Max Verstappen, but by the end of the season he finished P3 - 13 points behind champion Norris.

The dip in form could be attributed to several things - Norris' brilliance, pressure from Verstappen's incredible comeback, or a weakness on low-grip circuits like Austin or Mexico.

But Piastri also hinted that controversial team orders at Monza, where he was told to give up P2 after a slow stop to Norris, were a turning point. It certainly kicked off theories that McLaren were favouring Norris in the title battle.

Cadillac's Bottas, who knows a thing or two about team orders having been Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes teammate for five seasons, weighed in on Piastri's dip in form.

"It’s hard to say when you’re not inside, when you’re not with the team and what’s going on internally," Bottas said.

”All I know is that sometimes this sport’s not fair, and that’s what it is. I think Oscar had a great season, but his first half was definitely better than his second half."

Still, Bottas argued that the future is very much bright for the young Aussie, who he believes will have many more opportunities to fight for titles.

"He’s still only had a few years in this sport, so it’s amazing that he’s already doing so well.

“He’s got a great future ahead of him, many opportunities ahead of him, so, if he had himself a bit of a dip, I’m sure he’s learned from it."

The 35-year-old even joked that if he can't win in 2026, he'll be rooting for his "fellow Aussie".

Bottas was also quizzed on his own expectations this season, arriving at a completely new team in Cadillac alongside fellow veteran Sergio Perez.

“No idea at this point, but we're realistic. It's not going to be easy, he said.

“It's a new team joining the sport, everything is new, so it's not really where we start from, it's where we end up.

“I'm looking forward to it. We'll have three days of testing next week, that's going to be step one, and then we can see a little bit where we are.”

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