“I am happy that there is no favouritism or bias within the team,” said Oscar Piastri following his collision with teammate Lando Norris at the Singapore Grand Prix in October. Yet this comment generated mixed reactions among fans and analysts. The 2025 Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship has been nothing short of intense, and with the season now concluded and Lando Norris crowned champion, the question remains: how far can it be said that he truly deserved it? 

From the very start of the season, Piastri demonstrated the qualities expected of a world champion. His pace was consistently impressive, securing five wins in the first ten races, compared to two for Norris. Beyond speed, he showed exceptional composure under pressure, leading McLaren to describe him as “one of F1’s coolest characters” who can “keep his emotions in check whenever he steps into his car.” This stood in contrast to Norris, who has often been criticised for cracking under pressure. Commentators such as 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve observed that, although Norris sometimes had a slight pace advantage, he would “collapse” during high-pressure qualifying laps. 

One of Piastri’s defining strengths is his calm, calculated approach to wheel-to-wheel racing. This level-headedness was particularly striking given his limited experience — only three seasons in Formula 1 compared with Norris’s seven. At his peak, Piastri already looked like a World Champion in the making, and at times, like one in the present. 

Given how strong Piastri looked, the obvious question arises: how did he let the championship slip? The first major blows came in the form of two costly penalties: a 10-second penalty for erratic driving at the British Grand Prix, and another in Brazil for causing a collision. It was ultimately the penalty in Brazil that proved decisive — his ten points simply weren’t enough to match Norris’s 25. 

Fans, however, offered different interpretations. Maya, a Xaverian student, believes that after the summer break: “the pressure started to get to Oscar, while Lando “seems to have really improved.” This shift is surprising for a driver as composed as Piastri had been all year. His performance dipped further in Baku two weeks later, where he crashed out of both qualifying and the race – highly uncharacteristic errors for him. He labelled the Azerbaijan weekend “the worst (he’s) ever had in racing,” as it resulted in his only retirement of the season. What followed was a streak of four races without a podium. 

This decline even led 2009 World Champion Jenson Button to remark on Sky Sports that: “at the moment, Lando is looking the strongest”. Clearly, something had changed. 

It’s impossible to discuss Piastri’s downfall without examining the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. This is arguably the race where the championship truly slipped away. After a slow pit stop cost Norris second place and allowed Piastri to take it, McLaren ordered Piastri to hand the position back. Piastri questioned the call but ultimately complied, a decision that set off a wave of speculation about internal favouritism. Fans, including Maya in Year 12, insisted there was “clear favouritism to Lando,” directly contradicting Piastri’s calm dismissal of such claims in Singapore. Norris also defended the team, saying after their collision that they held him “accountable” and treated both drivers fairly. Even four-time world champion Max Verstappen told Sky Sports that McLaren were “absolutely” favouring Norris – a comment that only fuelled the debate. 

So, was Monza evidence that McLaren preferred Norris for the championship? 

All three contenders (Verstappen, Norris, and Piastri) were exceptional throughout the season. With the occasional error being inevitable in a 24-race calendar, they were undoubtedly the top performers of 2025. While I do believe there were moments where Norris seemed favoured within McLaren, I don’t think this alone ruined Piastri’s chances. 

As Piastri himself said in a post-race interview: “it’s important to remember that for the other races, I’ve been doing pretty well.” Formula 1 is not just physically demanding but mentally exhausting. Success does not rely solely on the team. Ultimately, it depends on how much a driver can extract from their car on any given weekend. This season, it was Norris who capitalised on Piastri’s mistakes and turned them to his advantage. That is why Lando Norris ends 2025 as the 35th World Drivers’ Champion – and why Oscar Piastri does not. 

But one thing is certain: Oscar Piastri should not be counted out as a future world champion.