Oscar Piastri is bidding to replicate Max Verstappen’s example in capitalising on having a dominant car in the opening rounds as he pursues a maiden Formula 1 title.
Piastri avenged the disappointment he endured on home soil at the opening race in Australia with a dominant drive to convert pole position in the Chinese Grand Prix.
The Australian led a McLaren 1-2 over team-mate Lando Norris, who triumphed in Melbourne, to underline the reigning champion’s status as the team to beat in 2025.
Piastri’s memorable weekend in Shanghai – which also included a second place in the Sprint race – saw him reduce his gap to Norris in the championship to 10 points.
With the battle to secure the ultimate prize tipped to be between him and Norris, Piastri has acknowledged that it is imperative he avoids dropped points at this stage.
Piastri has pointed to how Verstappen relied upon the colossal advantage that he had built up to secure the title when Red Bull’s competitiveness regressed last year.
The Dutchman prevailed over Norris with two whole rounds to spare despite Red Bull’s sudden dip culminating in him encountering a 10-race winless run mid-season.
Asked whether it was premature to be discussing the championship picture, Piastri told media including Motorsport Week: “I think it’s very, very early, clearly.
“But I think no matter how short or long the championship is, you need to maximise the car that you have every race.
“I think we saw last year that Verstappen was able to win the championship by capitalising on the car he had in the first part of the year.
“And he obviously did a good job through the rest of the year as well, but he built the gap when he had the ability to build the gap.”
Piastri aware McLaren advantage might not last
Piastri has stressed that it is crucial that McLaren translates its current advantage into points as there are no assurances that it will maintain the edge over its rivals.
“I think that’s an important thing at the moment, because you never know when someone’s going to find some speed with an upgrade or find something in how they operate the car,” he said.
“There are pretty fine margins out there. So yeah, I think you obviously want to capitalise whenever you can, but I’m certainly not thinking about the championship yet.
“As much of a cliché as it is, it’s a cliché for a reason.
“I’m focusing on one weekend at a time because ultimately that is how you win a championship: by getting the most out of every weekend.”
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