Oscar Piastri has a huge 2025 season ahead of him as he hunts a maiden Formula 1 title with a McLaren team who are well and truly back to form.
They ended a streak of 16 years without a crown in 2024 as they claimed the Constructors’ Championship over Ferrari by 14 points.
Piastri was an instrumental part of their success and was a great team player when it came to helping Lando Norris in his pursuit of Max Verstappen.
McLaren boss Andrea Stella thinks that signing Red Bull’s Rob Marshall was the last piece that they needed to compete and the way they ended last season with the fastest car suggests that may be correct.
Piastri feels his F1 weaknesses are exposed at the front of the pack and it’s something that McLaren may want to improve upon in the future.
Having a second driver perform at a lower level can be catastrophic, much like Red Bull experienced with Sergio Perez in 2024, costing them a title double.
Oscar Piastri has ‘advantage’ over F1 rivals after engineering background
McLaren may be hurt by a rule change in 2025 with the DRS flap set to be reduced, minimising the effect of the system in a straight line.
It played a role in their success on some tracks and may push them further towards their rivals on tracks like Spielberg, Monza and Baku.
It means that the drivers will be faced with setup tweaks to overcome the loss of performance but Piastri may be well-positioned to deal with it.
READ MORE: Oscar Piastri expects a ‘favour’ from Lando Norris after what Mario Andretti saw
He admitted to Sky Sports before that he studied engineering subjects at school which hands him an advantage when discussing his car’s behaviours.
“Maths, Physics and Computer Science. I was most likely going to be an engineer if I wasn’t a driver,” he said.
“There’s an advantage to knowing what different changes on the car do and having a rough idea on setup ideas and stuff. I think that would probably be the next path I would’ve done if I couldn’t be a driver.”
Who are the favourites for the 2025 F1 title?
The Formula 1 landscape could completely change over the winter, but the continuity of the regulations normally suggests that the running order should be similar to how 2024 ended.
McLaren won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Ferrari on their heels. The Papaya outfit had the fastest car and will be looking to retain its advantage before the start of the 2025 season.
The Australian Grand Prix returns to a spot as the opening race of the campaign for the first time since 2019 which should provide Piastri with a boost.
READ MORE: Oscar Piastri snubs the Australian Grand Prix as he names his favourite Formula 1 circuit to race at
Beginning the year with his home race will give him a little more confidence and the support that Australian fans give is usually top-tier.
With Daniel Ricciardo off the grid now, expect them to be all-in on the remaining home-grown talent left on the grid who should be in title contention.
