Max Verstappen has claimed that Oscar Piastri’s sudden slump in the 2025 season has been “bizarre” as he recognised he is reliant on luck to win the Formula 1 title.
There has been a 58-point swing between the two McLarens over the last six rounds as Lando Norris has turned a 34-point gap into a 24-point advantage over Piastri.
Piastri appeared well on course to seize a maiden Drivers’ Championship when he won at Zandvoort in August and Norris retired in the closing stages with an oil leak.
But there has been a drastic change in the momentum in the intra-team fight at the Woking-based squad as Norris has headed his team-mate in every race since then.
“I have no explanation for that to be honest. I find it very bizarre,” Verstappen told media including Motorsport Week.
“I didn’t expect it to go like this, although at the end of the day it’s not really my problem.”
When put to him that Piastri hasn’t forgotten how to drive mid-season, Verstappen responded: “No, I don’t think so. But honestly, I also don’t know how this is possible.”
Verstappen would have been ‘more annoyed’ than Piastri
Verstappen has insisted that he would’ve made his displeasure at the situation more evident than Piastri, who has remained calm despite seeing his title bid collapse.
“I think that has to do with how they operate as a team as well,” he said. “That’s not how I operate.
“But that’s fine, everyone does their own thing. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I am a bit different in that regard.
“I don’t know what has happened or what hasn’t happened, so it’s difficult for me to judge.
“But I would probably have been a bit more annoyed, I think, when you’re that far ahead and suddenly that far behind.”
Verstappen admits points gap down to ‘circumstances’
Verstappen has capitalised on Piastri’s downturn, combined with enhancements to Red Bull’s RB21, to still be in championship contention with three races remaining.
However, the Dutchman, who lies 49 points behind Norris, has acknowledged that mishaps on McLaren’s part helped him to close down what was a 104-point margin.
“I think closing the gap that quickly has happened partly because all circumstances came together,” he assessed.
“They made a few mistakes after the summer break, while we had some good races in which everything came together. Yeah, then you can gain very quickly.”
And with Norris thwarting Red Bull’s resurgence with consecutive victories in Mexico and Brazil, Verstappen has contended that the “real picture” has prevailed again.
“At some point, you come back to reality and know that it won’t go like that everywhere,” he added.
“But at least we’ve been on the podium the last couple of races, and that’s already a lot more consistent than what it was from mid-2024 to mid-2025. So, in the end it’s still positive.”
READ MORE – Why Oscar Piastri believes ‘tough pills’ that’ve derailed 2025 F1 title bid will help him long term
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