Ex-F1 Champion Asserts Oscar Piastri Not Taking Max Verstappen’s ‘C**p’ in Title Fight

Former F1 world champion Alan Jones asserted that Oscar Piastri was not going to tolerate anything from Max Verstappen on-track.

Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen (Via IMAGO)

Oscar Piastri has turned out to be the standout driver in 2025. The Australian driver has defied expectations with four wins in the first six races. This has put pressure on reigning world champion Max Verstappen, who has struggled to match the 24-year-old. The two have had a few incidents on track. However, former F1 champion Alan Jones insisted that Piastri was not going to tolerate anything that crossed the limits during on-track battles.

Jones highlighted Max Verstappen‘s racing instincts allow the Dutchman to go for every gap that exists, something often said by late F1 legend Ayrton Senna. Although, this does not intimidate Piastri. The Australian driver is capable of understanding what Verstappen is up to and manages to not put up with any ‘c**p.’ This is in stark difference to other drivers on the grid, including Lando Norris, who are often forced to back down against the reigning world champion to avoid collisions.

He sees a gap and goes for it, and Oscar is not going to be put off by that. “There’s a lot of other drivers he’ll bluff and hold them to ransom a bit, but I believe Oscar has got the mental strength not to put up with that c**p.
Alan Jones told Fox Sports

Moreover, Alan Jones asserted that Oscar Piastri had the right mindset to challenge Max Verstappen. The 24-year-old was prepared to give it back to the Red Bull star in similar fashion. This was the case during the Saudi Arabian GP, when Piastri did not back off from making the corner at Turn 1, which inevitably led to Verstappen running off wide. The Dutchman then received a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

He’ll just take it for what is and give it back to him.
Alan Jones added

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Oscar Piastri a ‘future world champion’

Heading into the 2025 season, fans believed Lando Norris would be the favorite for the world title. The McLaren driver was expected to improve on previous year’s campaign and defeat Max Verstappen. However, things have been completely different. Oscar Piastri has outperformed Norris and Verstappen. The Australian driver has shown brilliance on-track in what might be a dominant campaign.

Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Andrea Stella (via F1)

Alan Jones was impressed by Piastri’s run so far this year. He claimed that the 24-year-old was certainly going to be a world champion in the future, if not this year. Additionally, Jones pointed out that Piastri’s rise came as a surprise in the F1 paddock as he managed to lead the championship in just his third season.

He is without a doubt a future world champion. He’s come out of almost nowhere and he’s got all the attributes that you need to be a world champion.
Alan Jones explained

Certainly, Oscar Piastri has been the driver to beat in F1 this year. The Australian driver’s four wins demonstrate his sheer dominance so far. He feels right at home with the McLaren car, that allowed him to take things to such a level. However, Piastri must ensure that he’s able to carry the momentum till the end of this year. Even a couple of rough weekends could severely impact his title prospects at this stage of the season.

Tags: Alan Jones Max Verstappen Oscar Piastri

#About the Author

Armaan Agarwal

(2613 Articles Published)

Armaan Agarwal is a Motorsport Sub-editor and Content Manager at Firstsportz. He has written over 2500 articles with around 1000 edited pieces under his belt. Armaan has years of experience in the field of journalism, having followed Formula 1 and NASCAR for almost a decade. Nico Rosberg's title victory at the 2016 Abu Dhabi GP against Lewis Hamilton remains engraved in his memory. He started his journey with his own motorsport blog in 2017. At Firstsportz, Armaan provides deep insight into the sport for fans through his special editorial pieces. Armaan has several other skills, including social media content creation, script writing, and debating. He completed his Bachelors of Arts in Mass Communication with a gold medal from St. Xavier’s University Kolkata. Presently, he is pursuing his Post Graduation in Broadcast Journalism at the India Today Media Institute with a keen eye at the ever-evolving dynamics of a newsroom. Apart from motorsport, he is an avid reader and keeps himself up to date with current affairs.

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