From Verstappen challenger to second fiddle: The mystery of Oscar Piastri

Even before his Formula 1 debut, Piastri was regarded as a major talent. As an Alpine junior, he won both the Formula 3 and Formula 2 championships as a rookie. It was only because Alpine had no seat for him in Formula 1 that he had to sit out 2022 on the sidelines.

That year Alpine kept fumbling, and Piastri, with all the legal fallout that entailed, signed for McLaren. In hindsight, a brilliant choice. While Alpine has since been found in the midfield or even at the back at times, McLaren has consistently fought at the front and even won two constructors’ titles.

In Piastri’s first season he immediately impressed alongside Lando Norris. The Brit had enjoyed two easy years next to Daniel Ricciardo, but Piastri was on his heels from day one. Over a full year Norris was quicker, but there was never much in it.

In Qatar it was ultimately Oscar Piastri who, with a sprint race, clinched McLaren’s first victory. Only a year later did the more experienced Norris take his first Grand Prix win in Miami. In 2024 the expectation was that Piastri would make life even harder for his teammate, but it was Norris who battled Verstappen for the world title over the season, not Piastri.

2025 became the year of truth. With clearly the best car on the grid, it turned into a true shootout between Norris and Piastri, which was only broken in the final stretch of the season by a spectacular Verstappen comeback.

Up to mid-season, Piastri seemed to be running away with the world title. When Piastri won at Zandvoort and rival Norris retired, the title fight looked done. It turned out differently. From then on Piastri didn’t win another race, threw away the world title, and even finished third in the final standings.

The honest story is that Piastri was leading Norris somewhat against the run of play. Piastri was on average slower in qualifying and Norris was also better in the races. Thanks to mistakes by the Brit, Piastri was ahead, whereas in the second half of the season the pendulum swung Norris’s way.

On top of that, Norris was fully backed by the team. With Piastri well in front, McLaren could have cruised to the title, but it helped Norris with a completely new front suspension that Piastri declined. That upgrade gave Norris more confidence and he began stringing results together, culminating in the title.

It wasn’t just the support in terms of updates; a few team decisions also rubbed Piastri the wrong way. He was told to move over in Monza, was muscled aside in Singapore, and lost the race in Qatar due to a strategic blunder. It’s no coincidence that manager Mark Webber no longer frequents McLaren’s hospitality.

But it’s not just Webber who seems to have vanished; at the moment, Piastri himself is nowhere to be seen. While Norris has taken two wins in a row with the revamped McLaren, Piastri has been missing in action. He retired in Hungary, but even before that he had been outpaced on pure speed by his teammate. What is going on with the man who was seen as Verstappen’s heir apparent?

Maybe the potential isn’t as great as people ascribed to the Australian. Maybe he’s in a slump. Maybe he was never as good as people thought. Whatever it may be, Piastri will need to straighten his back quickly to avoid following his manager out the door.

Because things can change fast in F1, as Webber knows all too well. He was also very close to a world title in 2010, but after that title went to teammate Sebastian Vettel in the ultimate season finale, Webber never got back to that level. He couldn’t have been a clearer number two, as he himself often admitted.

For Piastri, that scenario now looms as well. Norris has just signed a brand-new contract, making him the team’s highest-paid driver. With the world title in his pocket, Norris has taken the next step in his development, whereas Piastri is being left behind.