Oscar Piastri insists he has the pace and consistency needed to beat McLaren team-mate Lando Norris for the 2025 Formula 1 championship, despite a few imperfect weekends so far.
The Australian driver will soon have to defend his lead in the standings after the end of the summer break, with the Dutch Grand Prix next week offering Norris the first opportunity to reassert his claim for glory this season.
After the British driver took the spoils in the season opener at Albert Park, Piastri delivered near-flawless performances to establish himself as the front-runner for the title. He claimed wins in China, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Miami before Norris eventually returned to the top step in Monaco.
However, Piastri needed a superb drive at Spa-Francorchamps to deny Norris a clean sweep in the last four races, as the championship fight remains tightly contested as a result.
After Budapest, Norris has five wins to Piastri’s six, with only nine points separating the pair after 14 rounds. Ahead of the weekend at the Hungaroring, despite holding a 16-point lead, the former Alpine Academy driver was asked if he felt he was still the fastest driver and confident in coming out on top in the intra-team battle.
“I think I have a lot of confidence in myself that I can do it, yes,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “Not every weekend has been perfect, but there’s not many weekends in my whole life that have been perfect.
“So I think just trying to put together a solid, consistent year is ultimately going to be an important thing. But I think the pace in the last few weekends, I think, especially Spa, I’ve been very confident in and very proud of.
“I think I’m more than capable of continuing that for the rest of the year. So, yeah, I’m confident that I can do it, but it’s not going to be easy.”
Piastri on the balance between speed and consistency in the 2025 title fight
Norris has faced challenges with consistency this season. Earlier in the year, he admitted to making “too many mistakes” during the Bahrain Grand Prix, despite finishing third.
He admitted these errors cost him valuable points and stressed the need to improve. In Austria, Norris also said that whoever makes fewer mistakes will win the title, highlighting the critical role of consistency in the championship battle.
Put to him what will ultimately decide the 2025 title — raw speed or minimising mistakes — Piastri was clear that both qualities will be essential.
“Both, ideally,” he replied. “Yeah, I mean, you can make an argument for either one. You can be consistent, but if you’re consistently coming second, then that’s not very useful for you. So you do need to have both.
“And the level of the field and the level of my team-mate, you need to bring your best. Inevitably, when you’re pushing that hard, there are going to be mistakes here and there because it doesn’t come without risk.
“But you can’t just afford to take things easy and try and be consistent. You need to be consistent – you need both to win the championship – you can’t just rely on one.”
READ MORE – Why Oscar Piastri is not prepared to play the percentages in 2025 F1 championship battle
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