Jamie Chadwick ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ to see Oscar Piastri do one thing in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after his ‘statement’

Oscar Piastri only has to outscore McLaren teammate Lando Norris by three points in Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to claim the lead of the 2025 F1 drivers’ standings.

The papaya pals lead the way after the first four rounds of the season with Norris scoring 77 points and Piastri earning 74. Norris took first blood by winning the Australian Grand Prix to also move atop the F1 drivers’ championship for the first time, but Piastri has since hit back.

Piastri left the Melbourne native’s home race in March with just two points after recovering to P9 after spinning whilst in P2. The 24-year-old has since been the in-form driver by winning from pole in China and Bahrain, along with hounding his British teammate over P2 in Japan.

Now, Piastri can go above Norris with a three-point swing in Sunday’s Saudi Arabian GP with his two Grand Prix wins to the 25-year-old’s one. His form over the opening rounds has also sparked a change of stance, as McLaren expected Norris to emerge as their early lead driver.

Jamie Chadwick ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ if Oscar Piastri dominates the Saudi Arabian GP

The 2020 FIA F3 and 2021 F2 champion has put himself in a position to go above Norris after Piastri dominated to win the Bahrain Grand Prix from pole. He beat Mercedes driver George Russel to set the fastest Q3 lap by 0.168 seconds, and won with a 15.499s lead to the Briton.

Norris beat himself up in Bahrain after only qualifying P6, before recovering to P3 in the race directly behind Russell after also receiving a five-second penalty for a false start. He had one real chance to pass the Mercedes star on the final lap, but was fooled into eying it at Turn 1.

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Now, Jamie Chadwick will not be surprised if Piastri dominates again at the Saudi Arabian GP after his ‘statement’ performance in Bahrain. The Australian was in a class of his own all race last week and Norris was just 0.095s and 0.163s faster than Piastri in FP1 and FP2 in Jeddah.

Chadwick told Sky Sports F1 (18/04, 18:37): “He was making a statement, wasn’t he? I think that was an important race victory and, obviously, that [gap] was over a Mercedes – not his teammate. Usually, it’s the two teammates that we’re seeing battle so closely.

“At the same time, I think it was a heavily dominant weekend and one I wouldn’t be surprised if we see again this weekend. I know it’s very close at the moment. But I can see him being very strong here.”

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris can stake their title case in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Pierre Gasly of Alpine continued his momentum from the Bahrain GP to top FP1 at the Saudi Arabian GP on Friday ahead of Norris by 0.007s with Piastri in P4. But the McLaren men took to the top of the timesheet in FP2 with Norris having a 0.280s margin to P3 Max Verstappen.

McLaren even showed strong race pace to suggest Norris and Piastri will fight for the victory on Sunday. It is a great chance for bother drivers to stake their case for the drivers’ title with the momentum with Piastri and Norris having to respond after a frustrating race in Bahrain.