Oscar Piastri is targeting his first F1 world championship this year. It’s only his third season in the sport, but it looks like a realistic objective.
Piastri, who ultimately finished fourth in the standings, scored his maiden victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix last year. That win was somewhat overshadowed by the McLaren team orders controversy, but his triumph in Azerbaijan was up there with the best performances of the season.
There are two weaknesses the Australian must address before he can lift the most coveted trophy. The first is qualifying, where he lost 21-3 to Lando Norris in the McLaren head-to-head last season.
And the second is consistency. On his best days, Piastri looks like a match for any driver on the grid, but he fell 82 points behind teammate after an underwhelming end to the season.
He did help McLaren win their first constructors’ title since 1998, though, and the Woking outfit are arguably the favourites for the upcoming campaign too. The last driver to win the title within their first three seasons was a sophomore Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
The 2025 season is expected to be one of the closest in F1 history as the teams converge at the end of the ruleset. Drivers at each of the top four teams will believe they have a shot.
Oscar Piastri says he’d cheer for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari if he wasn’t an F1 driver
Hamilton may be one of those drivers harbouring title ambitions. Ferrari came within 14 points of winning the constructors’ in 2024, so they should absolutely be aiming for the top.
Much will depend on how quickly Hamilton can adapt to his new team, with Charles Leclerc already a Ferrari veteran. The Briton is pursuing an unprecedented eighth championship at the age of 40.
He’d be the first quadragenarian to achieve the feat since Jack Brabham in 1966. Speaking on The Fast and the Curious podcast, Piastri admitted it would be a ‘pretty cool’ story as an external observer.
“I would say, if I wasn’t racing in F1, seeing Lewis Hamilton win a world championship with Ferrari, would be pretty cool,” he said. “It would be if I wasn’t racing against him.”
Ferrari’s top brass have surprising expectations for Lewis Hamilton ahead of debut season
The Hamilton of 2024 didn’t look like a driver who could win another championship before he retires. George Russell thrashed him 19-5 in qualifying and beat him in the races too.
Hamilton endured some of the poorest days of his career and even said himself he wasn’t ‘fast anymore’. Ferrari, though, are banking on a late revival.
Fortunately, Hamilton’s confidantes think he could find an ‘extra level’ in 2025. They say a race-winning car always brings out his best form.
Surprisingly given their respective showings last season, Ferrari are expecting Hamilton to be their number one performer, rather than Leclerc. That reflects the sheer amount of money they’ve invested in the sport’s most successful driver.
