“The competition is going to be incredibly tough”: Oscar Piastri addresses challenging Max Verstappen in 2025
Oscar Piastri is optimistic about mounting a title challenge against Max Verstappen in 2025. Ahead of the 2024 Qatar GP, the McLaren driver spoke to the media, including Sportkeeda, and expressed confidence that with the right tools and a strong start, a championship fight is within reach.
Reflecting on the 2024 season, Piastri acknowledged being mathematically out of the title race post-summer break but highlighted his ability to match or outperform his teammate, Lando Norris, on multiple occasions.
This consistency, paired with McLaren’s upward trajectory, has positioned the Australian as a potential contender for the future. With McLaren set to end the season strongly, there is growing belief within the team that they could challenge Red Bull and Ferrari in 2025.
Piastri emphasized the importance of starting the 2025 season with a competitive car, drawing parallels to Verstappen’s dominance in 2024. He noted that Verstappen’s ability to start strong and establish an early lead played a crucial role in his success, enabling him to secure a fourth world title despite challenges throughout the 24-race calendar.
After two seasons with McLaren, Oscar Piastri has demonstrated the talent and consistency needed to fight for a championship. He and the team hope that 2025 could be the year they break through as genuine title contenders.
Asked by Sportskeeda if he was confident he could challenge Verstappen for a title given McLaren’s performance this year, Oscar Piastri said:
“I think as a team being quick enough from the first race of the year is a big big thing you know obviously max got a very large lead from the beginning of the season. Yes, he's kept it and I think probably extended it a little bit since then, which is very impressive given that there's not been many weekends where he’s had the quickest car, not many at all. So I think the competition is going to be incredibly tough no matter who it's from. But as a team, starting on the right foot is the big thing and for myself personally, like I said before, it's just putting all the tools together and being able to use them consistently and starting in the right spot. I mean, literally from last weekend, but you know, putting myself in a good position in qualifying is just probably the big thing.”
Oscar Piastri reckons that McLaren will fight for both drivers and constructors championships from the start of 2025
Oscar Piastri believes McLaren will head into the 2025 season with greater confidence than they did in 2024. Reflecting on the current season, the Australian driver acknowledged that Red Bull dominated the early stages of 2024, with McLaren only making a significant leap in performance after introducing upgrades at Imola. However, the Woking-based team’s ability to sustain competitive form across most circuits has bolstered their optimism for the upcoming season.
Oscar Piastri hoped McLaren’s consistency in 2024 would translate into a strong start in 2025. He emphasized the importance of being competitive from the very first race to mount a challenge for both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships.
Having shown the potential to take on the top teams in the latter half of 2024, Piastri is confident that McLaren’s preparation and development over the winter will position them as strong contenders in the next championship campaign.
Asked if they expect to fight both drivers and constructors in 2025 from the beginning of the season itself, Oscar Piastri said:
“I sure hope so, I think we've got a car that's been very consistent this year in 95% of the track we've gone to. You never know what everyone else is going to bring, but I think we're going in more confident than we have been the last two seasons. It was still about four months or three months to the start of the season. So a lot can happen between now and then. But I think we're going in as confident as we have been in the last 24 months. So yeah, hopefully we can, I mean, we're all hoping that we can start the season on the right foot. It would make life a bit easier for everyone involved, but we'll just have to wait and see.”
As it stands, McLaren currently leads Ferrari by 30 points in the Constructors’ Championship with a total of 623 points, following a dominant 1-2 finish in the Qatar GP sprint race. Ferrari sits second with 593 points, maintaining a 36-point lead over Red Bull Racing, who are third.
With the main race in Qatar and the season finale in Abu Dhabi still to come, the fight for the championship remains intense and is likely to be decided in the final round. A victory for McLaren would mark their first Constructors’ Championship title since 1998, ending a decades-long wait and solidifying their resurgence as a top team in Formula 1.