Piastri Staying Calm Under Pressure as Verstappen Closes In on Title Battle

Oscar Piastri insists he’s keeping his cool amid mounting pressure from Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, drawing on his proven record in high-stakes championship fights as the 2025 Formula 1 season enters its decisive phase.

The United States Grand Prix proved a challenging weekend for the McLaren driver. After crashing out on the opening lap of the sprint race, enduring a difficult qualifying session, and finishing fifth in the main event, Piastri left Austin with just 10 championship points.

In contrast, Verstappen delivered a flawless performance, sweeping both the sprint and the grand prix to collect maximum points and reignite his title challenge.

After 19 rounds, Piastri still leads the Drivers’ Championship, holding a 14-point advantage over teammate Norris and a 40-point buffer over Verstappen. But the reigning world champion’s recent surge three consecutive grand prix victories has dramatically tightened the contest with five races remaining.

A Shift in Momentum

Piastri’s recent form tells the story of a title fight swinging back toward his rivals. Over the last four rounds, the Australian has scored 37 points, compared to 57 for Norris and 101 for Verstappen.

A combination of a car-performance mismatch in Monza, and incident-filled weekends in Baku and Austin, has chipped away at his once-comfortable lead.

Still, the 24-year-old remains composed — and confident.

“I’ve been in fights that were as close, or even closer than what they are now,” Piastri told media in Austin. “I’ve got the evidence for myself that things can still turn out well, and I still fully believe that I can win the championship.”

“This weekend has obviously been tough, and the gap has come down a little bit in the last few weekends. But performance is what’s going to win you a championship — not just looking at points. The faster you go, the more points you’re going to score.”

Drawing on a Proven Track Record

Piastri is no stranger to title pressure. Before reaching Formula 1, he achieved a remarkable hat-trick of junior titles winning the Formula Renault Eurocup (2019), Formula 3 (2020), and Formula 2 (2021) in consecutive seasons, a feat unmatched in motorsport history.

Each of those championships went down to the wire. Piastri edged Victor Martins by just 7.5 points for the 2019 Eurocup crown, then clinched the 2020 F3 title by a mere three points over Théo Pourchaire in a dramatic finale.

That experience, he says, is what keeps him grounded now.

Searching for Qualifying Answers

While Piastri remains confident in McLaren’s race pace, he admits qualifying has become “tougher” in recent rounds.

“I think in race trim, we’ve still looked pretty good,” he explained. “But in qualifying trim, it’s been a little bit tougher for us the last few weekends. This weekend, for whatever reason, I just haven’t gelled with the car at all. The only thing you can do is analyse it and see what we can do better.”

With five races left, the championship remains wide open. Piastri’s focus now shifts to the Mexican Grand Prix on October 27, where he’ll look to rediscover his early-season form and reassert control in one of Formula 1’s most compelling title battles in years.

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