Oscar Piastri Insists He Is Still ‘the Championship Favorite’ Despite Max Verstappen’s Dominant Austin Triumph

Oscar Piastri made a shocking claim that he was still comfortably leading the driver's title battle despite Max Verstappen's dominant charge.

Oscar Piastri Insists He Is Still ‘the Championship Favorite’ Despite Max Verstappen’s Dominant Austin Triumph

Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri (via XPB images)

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Oscar Piastri failed to be the dominant force that he has been the entire season at the 2025 US GP. The Aussie suffered from a DNF in the sprint race, and he could only salvage a P5 finish in the main race following a mediocre qualifying performance. The point difference between him and Lando Norris is just 14 points, and Max Verstappen‘s stellar win has reduced the Red Bull racers’ difference to 40 points.

Despite the massive ups and downs in the driver’s title fight, Oscar Piastri is still confident of his winning chances. Piastri’s lead is being reduced substantially with every passing race, and he seems unable to return to his dominant ways. With the lead ever-so-shortening, the 24-year-old opened up on his championship ambitions and how he hasn’t lost yet and is probably the favorite to hold onto his lead for the rest of the season.

Oscar Piastri isn’t too concerned with the title battle in the final stages of the season, despite his lead being cut short every passing race. The 24-year-old reckoned that Max Verstappen indeed enjoyed a good run in the past few races, but McLaren’s performance was mediocre too. As such, if Woking manages to regain its lost form, then Piastri wouldn’t have major concerns in holding onto his lead.

Not necessarily. He’s obviously had a good run in the last few races, but ultimately if we can find our way again, find our pace, and certainly for me, find the pace again, then I don’t have any major concerns.

Oscar Piastri said, as reported by motorsport.com.

Speaking on the battle between the top 3 drivers, Oscar Piastri insisted that there was still a long way to go, especially for Max Verstappen to win the title. While the Aussie accepted that Verstappen cut down the point deficit very quickly in the last five races, the 40-point deficit was still big enough to be covered in the upcoming races. As such, he was sure that if McLaren found their pace again, he would still remain the championship favorite for the 2025 season.

It’s still a long way to go in the championship, it is still for Max anyway. He’s obviously chased it down pretty quick, but it’s not exactly a small gap with five rounds to go. So I think if we can find our pace again, then things will take care of itself.

Oscar Piastri added.

Oscar Piastri labels US GP weekend as ‘odd one out’ from previous races

Oscar Piastri was still performing great in the recent races, with the Azerbaijan GP DNF being the starting point of his downfall. The Aussie has been unable to secure a race win in the past four races and hasn’t really scored many points against Max Verstappen. Now, owing to the mistakes in Austin, Piastri believes that the American weekend was the odd one out compared to the previous races.

Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via Getty)
Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via Getty)

Oscar Piastri accepted that the US GP weekend was something that he did not want or expect. He acknowledged that this weekend had been different compared to the previous races in its own way. Piastri recalled that the Baku DNF was a disaster, and the Singapore GP was insignificant in results. But the Texas race was an odd one out, as he did not suffer from any problems but still failed to salvage a race win.

Obviously this weekend has not been what I wanted or what I expected. This weekend has been quite different to the previous couple: Baku was obviously a bit of a disaster for very different reasons and Singapore was what it was. So I think this weekend has been kind of the odd one out compared to others.

Oscar Piastri noted.

The 2025 season is shaping up to be extremely exciting and enjoyable so far. The title battle is far from over, as anything can happen in the final races. It would certainly be one of the greatest results from Max Verstappen if he manages to close down the gap in points to the championship leader. Regardless, time will tell how the battle pans out between the top drivers.

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