Speaking at the Australian Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri brushed aside thoughts of McLaren dominance in 2025
Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and the entire team at McLaren enter the 2025 Formula 1 season on something of a hot streak.
McLaren secured their first Constructors’ Championship since 1998 a year ago, and the season ended with either Norris or Piastri on the top step of the podium in four of the final ten races. And while pre-season testing is always to be taken with a grain of salt, many left Bahrain believing the MCL39 will begin the year as the dominant package on the grid.
Despite that run of success, Piastri dismissed any notions of a “Red Bull-style cycle of dominance” ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
“No, I don’t think so,” said Piastri when asked about such a potential run during Thursday’s FIA Press Conference. “Obviously, that would be ideal—to try and have that level of success and competitiveness. I think that’s what every team dreams of and what every driver dreams of. But at this point in the regulations, with how last season went, expecting that is incredibly naive.
In Piastri’s mind, the 2025 season might be even more competitive than a season ago, which saw McLaren beat Ferrari by just 14 points in the Constructors’ Championship standings.
“I think this season is going to be just as tight, if not even tighter, than the second half of last year especially. So yeah, of course, that’s what we want to aim for, but we have a new set of rules coming next year, and that’s probably going to change the pecking order quite a bit—or at least the gaps quite a bit,” added Piastri. “So I don’t think it’s the same circumstances. But also, I think this year is going to be an incredibly competitive year of F1. As much as I would like to try and have that level of success, I think it’s going to be very, very tough.”
Piastri and McLaren also made some news earlier in the week, as the young driver put pen to paper on a new deal that will keep him with the team for “many years” to come. The Australian driver was asked about the contract extension, which he described as a “natural progression” given the team’s recent success.
“I mean, it was from both sides, really. I was already signed up for this year and the next, but it felt like just a very natural progression to sign for an even longer term,” described Piastri. “Obviously, last year was an incredible year for the team. I think my two years at the team have been pretty incredible—starting from where we were when I joined to being Constructors’ champions now. It made a lot of sense in my mind to try and continue that and build with the team.
“Obviously, myself and Lando are both there for a long time now. Andrea [Stella, McLaren Team Principal] is on a long-term contract, Zak [Brown, McLaren CEO], the key technical staff as well. So yeah, for me, it seemed like a no-brainer, and I think it was reciprocated from the team as well.”
A major talking point during the 2024 season was the so-called “Papaya Rules,” set in place by the team as Norris tried to chase down Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship, but McLaren also had Piastri up front fighting for wins as the team aimed for the Constructors’ Championship. Asked about the team’s “rules of engagement” for 2025, Piasri stated that it would all be decided on the track, but that the team and their drivers were “clear” on the state of play heading into 2025.
“Yeah. I mean, we’re starting from a clean slate, and ultimately, whoever’s going to be faster on track is going to be the one who wins and finishes higher. So yeah, we’re very much clear on how we’re going into the season, and that’s racing each other and trying to hopefully fight for wins. It’s all very clear,” said Piastri. “We’ve discussed a lot from last season and how we managed the back end of last year.
“And I think this year, starting from zero again, we’re both going to be trying our best to win.”
Speaking of winning, an Australian driver has never won the Australian Grand Prix.
Can Piastri break that curse?
“I don’t know. We’ll see,” said Piastri when asked on Thursday.
“I know what you want me to say, and everyone’s headline can be that, but we’ll see. I think, you know, obviously no one really knows what to expect.
“Testing went pretty well, but you don’t know where everybody stands. I think we’re pretty happy with how our test went, but as we’ve said, Melbourne is a completely different track to Bahrain. Weather is going to be different to Bahrain and different every hour, by the look of it,” Piastri added. “So it’s going to be an interesting weekend for sure, but I think hopefully we’re expecting to be somewhere up the front.
“Whether that’s right at the pointy end, we’ll wait until Saturday, I think.”
We’ll find out whether Piastri and McLaren are at the pointy end soon enough.
