Max Verstappen believes Oscar Piastri is benefitting from Mark Webber’s wisdom and experience, in similar ways to his own relationship with father Jos.

Piastri has stepped forward to become a regular race winner and leads the championship after the first five races of the F1 2025 championship.

Oscar Piastri ‘very solid and calm’

Piastri overcame Max Verstappen’s challenge for victory in last weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, coming out on top of a race-long duel after getting the jump on Verstappen into Turn 1.

While the Dutch driver held onto the lead after feeling he had been pushed off by Piastri, the stewards gave Verstappen a five-second time penalty which he served at his pitstop.

Verstappen appeared to have the edge on Piastri towards the end of the race stints, extending his lead close to three seconds by the time of his one and only stop, and closed back up to finish just 2.6 seconds behind the Australian at the chequered flag.

Piastri’s win was his third of the season, and moves him into the championship lead for the first time in his career. He leads McLaren teammate Lando Norris by 10 points, with Verstappen a further two points behind.

On a weekend where Norris again had to put in a recovery drive after a compromised qualifying session – Norris crashed early in Q3 – Piastri’s unflappability during the first handful of races has caught the attention of Verstappen.

The four-time F1 World Champion was full of praise for Piastri’s approach to Formula 1 in the post-race press conference.

“I think I’ve said it before. People forget a little bit – last year was his second year,” he said.

“Now he’s in his third year, and he’s very solid. He’s very calm in his approach, and I like that. It shows on track.

“He delivers when he has to, barely makes mistakes – and that’s what you need when you want to fight for a championship.”

Piastri is managed by former Red Bull F1 driver Mark Webber, an experienced veteran of Formula 1 and sportscar racing, whose own experience as a frontrunner, Grand Prix winner, and championship challenger alongside Sebastian Vettel’s dominant run between 2010-’13, is benefitting him, believes Verstappen.

“I think with Mark by his side, he’s helping him a lot. It’s great,” he said.

“People learn from their own careers – that’s what I had with my dad [Jos Verstappen], and Mark is advising Oscar.

“At the end of the day, Oscar is using his talent, and that’s great to see.”

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Oscar Piastri: Leading the championship changes nothing

Piastri moving into the championship lead means the Australian now has to contend with something that not all drivers can handle – that of being the prey, rather than the predator.

But, for the seemingly unflappable Australian, his championship lead changes nothing in terms of the mindset he’ll bring to the racetrack.

“No. I still want to go out and try and win every race I can,” he said.

“I was saying before, I’m not that bothered by the fact that I’m leading the championship, but I’m proud of the work and the reasons behind why we’re leading the championship.

“Melbourne wasn’t a great start to the year in terms of results. But from the moment I’ve hit the track this season, I felt like I’ve been in a good place.

“Leading the championship is a result of all the hard work we’ve done in the off-season, the hard work I’ve done personally, the hard work the team’s done. I’m more proud of all of those things than I am of the fact that I’m leading the championship because, ultimately, I want to be leading it after round 24, not round five.”

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