What Piastri Done in the First 25% of the Season

Compared to last season, when he finished fourth in the drivers’ standings with 292 points, two Grand Prix victories, and no pole position in the whole season, now Oscar Piastri has made a remarkable leap. In just six races this year, he has already taken four wins, five podiums, two poles, and currently leads the championship by 16 points! Is he a better candidate than Lando Norris for the 2025 Drivers’ Championship? Surely we will find out soon. Here is a quick recap of Oscar Piastri in the first 25% of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne, March 16th, 2025

At the season opener, Oscar Piastri put McLaren on the front row by qualifying second with a lap of 1:15.180 in his hometown, just behind teammate Lando Norris. In the race’s tricky intermediate conditions, both McLaren drivers spun, but only Piastri was beached; luckily, he was able to get out of the grass, dropping to 13th. Later on, he demonstrated a strong recovery pace. Piastri fought back through the field, passing Lewis Hamilton on the final laps to finish ninth and score two championship points. That last lap overtake was also the overtake of the month. The P9 from Oscar made the Australian home race curse continue, and was the worst race finish from Oscar in this season so far.

Chinese Grand Prix - Shanghai, March 23rd, 2025

Oscar topped in the only practice session, then finished P3 in Sprint qualifying, and P2 in the sprint. In the qualifying, Piastri stormed his first ever Grand Prix pole — a 1:30.641 in Q3. He turned the pole into an easy pole to win. Piastri managed his tyre life expertly in a one-stop race, crossing the line 9.748 seconds ahead of his teammate Lando Norris in second place, putting his first race win in 2025 in the record.

Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka, April 6th, 2025

Qualifying third with a best lap of 1:27.027, Piastri lined up behind Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. In the 53-lap feature, he ran faultlessly to secure a podium finish. However, also stuck behind the top two for the whole race, there was some idea that Lando should clear out and give Oscar a chance, and try to pass Max. Yet still, Oscar crossed the line 2.129 seconds after the winner, adding 15 points to his pocket.

Bahrain Grand Prix - Sakhir, April 13th, 2025

Piastri continued his momentum by claiming pole with a 1:29.841 in qualifying. Showing us how much he improved in his single lap pace, and his pole in China wasn’t luck. He then led every lap in the 57-lap race, transferring the pole into victory without much challenge in Bahrain. He held off George Russell and teammate Norris to score the second win of the season and another 25 points. He took the chance and also used the advantage from pole, closing up the gap to his teammate, and pulling away from Max, who was only P6 in Bahrain.

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Jeddah April 20th, 2025

Despite Verstappen taking his second pole of the year, Piastri was able to secure second on the grid with a 1:27.304 while Lando Norris only able to find the wall and only P10 in Q3. In the race, he executed a perfect launch and perfect first corner drive, made Max Verstappen get a five-second penalty, led the whole second stint of the race, and won by 2.843 seconds ahead of Verstappen. Meanwhile, Lando Norris was only able to recover a P4, Piastri overtook Lando in the points, becoming the first Australian to lead the drivers’ championship since Mark Webber in 2010!

Miami Grand Prix - Miami, May 4th, 2025

First race in South America and second sprint weekend of the year, Oscar qualified second for the sprint, and finished second in the sprint race, only losing to Lando, who got the best luck for safety car timing. In the qualifying, Piastri qualified fourth, setting a 1:26.375 in Q3. In the Sunday race, he rose one position in turn one easily because Norris fell behind to P6 in the battle with Verstappen. Then Piastri quickly passed Andrea Kimi Antonelli and made a patient, decisive move on lap 14 to pass Verstappen and then controlled the remainder of the race. He led teammate Norris home by 4.6 seconds, with George Russell completing the podium in third. OP81 took his third win in a row and fourth of the season. He is the first McLaren driver to win three races in a row since Mika Hakkinen in 1998