Oscar Piastri helped McLaren return to being the team to beat at the 2025 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix, while teammate Lando Norris had a bewildering weekend en route to P3.
Just three points now separate the papaya pals in the F1 drivers’ championship ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this weekend. Norris continues to top the standings after snatching the lead at the opening race, but Piastri has continued to eat into his teammate’s advantage.
Piastri spinning whilst running P2 in Australia before recovering to claim P9 immediately put the Melbourne native on the back foot in the title race. Yet from being 23 points behind, the 24-year-old has largely put a shadow on Norris over the rounds in China, Japan and Bahrain.
Oscar Piastri takes the baton off Lando Norris as McLaren’s favourite to lead their efforts
The Bahrain GP last weekend especially showed Piastri at his best as the McLaren racer took pole position by 0.168 seconds and won by 15.499s. It was even the biggest winning margin in seven rounds, dating back to Max Verstappen’s 19.477s at the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
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Now, the mood inside the McLaren garage is also turning in Piastri’s favour. Motorsport.com reports that the 2020 FIA F3 and 2021 F2 champion has taken over the baton from Norris as who McLaren favoured to start the 2025 F1 season as their top driver after only four rounds.
McLaren believed Norris would lead the Woking natives after learning from his fights against Verstappen last term, along with also having the best car on the grid. Yet the 25-year-old is not living up to their expectations and leaving the door ajar for Piastri to emerge as the No1.
Oscar Piastri bounced back brilliantly from the Australian Grand Prix to cast a shadow over Lando Norris
Norris initially started the 2025 F1 season living up to McLaren’s expectations by taking pole and winning the Australian GP. He beat Piastri by just 0.084s in Q3 and weathered his attack, the rain plus a late challenge from Verstappen to win. But the Australian has firmly hit back.
Piastri took his first F1 career pole in China and won the Grand Prix without facing much of a challenge from Norris, who battled a brake failure to come P2. The Australian also took P2 in the Shanghai Sprint, while the Briton only got P8 after falling backwards from P6 on the grid.
READ MORE: Every error that cost Lando Norris points in his failed 2024 F1 title challenge
Norris would respond somewhat at Suzuka after out-qualifying Piastri and finishing ahead of his McLaren teammate by 0.706s. But a mere 0.032 seconds separated their best laps in Q3, as strong winds cost Piastri more time than Norris in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Bristol-born racer could seldom shake Piastri off his tail at Suzuka, as well. Yet qualifying at the Bahrain GP was where Piastri truly began to stake a case to change McLaren’s stance after Norris only managed P6 and was even 0.426s off the Australian’s pole position speed.
Team principal Andrea Stella admits Norris finds McLaren’s 2025 car more difficult than last season’s machine. But Piastri can seemingly handle their MCL39’s tendencies easier and ran off into the distance to win, putting him in a position to lead the standings if Norris came P4.
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