McLaren driver Oscar Piastri did not become world champion in the 2025 Formula 1 season despite a long lead in the overall World Cup standings. Nevertheless, Piastri describes his year as “by far his best season” in Formula 1.
Piastri said: “If you look at the big picture, it was a very strong season. I feel like it was the most complete season of mine so far.”
Judging by Piastri’s successes, this is true: in his third Formula 1 year, the Australian racing driver took a top-three place in the drivers’ standings for the first time and won a total of seven Grands Prix. He was better in all key personal statistics than in previous years. But that wasn’t enough to win the title: Piastri finished third behind Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
That’s why Piastri says: “There is still room for improvement. It’s sometimes frustrating, but sometimes it’s also encouraging.”
From September: Piastri loses the lead – and the World Cup
This became particularly clear from September onwards: Piastri stumbled, while his title rivals Norris and Verstappen first caught up and then even overtook him.
According to Piastri, this was due to a few races “where things didn’t come together properly – especially in Austin and in Mexico.” He sees concrete “opportunities to become a better driver overall – in terms of my driving style and how I adapt to different conditions and demands of the car.”
But Piastri emphasized that it wasn’t anything more than “fine-tuning”: “For probably 90 percent of the season, what I did worked very well. But there were also certain moments throughout the year when it became clear to me that there were still things that I could improve.”