Oscar Piastri is struggling against one F1 driver and it could cost him the 2025 title

Since McLaren ordered Piastri to let Norris through for second place at Monza, things haven’t been smooth. He crashed out of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after jumping the start and crashing in qualifying, then collided with Norris at the start of the Sprint at COTA.

Has Max Verstappen gotten into Oscar Piastri’s head?

Now, if Piastri is to become the first Australian to win an F1 title since Alan Jones in 1980, the Melbourne native must respond. And there will be no better way for Piastri to respond than by proving that he is not intimidated by Verstappen on his return to Brazil on November 7-9.

The 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix will mark a year since Piastri put up absolutely no defence as Verstappen rose from P17 to win the 2024 Sao Paulo GP. Verstappen caught Piastri for P7 on Lap 9 of 70 last November, and he simply drove by into Turn 1 as if he was racing on his own.

Verstappen was 0.364 seconds behind when he took the inside line into Turn 1, a spot where he’d already found extra grip earlier in the race. But again, there was no response from Piastri, and Verstappen pulled away without any trouble.

Since F1’s last stop at the Sao Paulo GP, there haven’t been many moments where Piastri has looked completely comfortable going up against Verstappen. The two haven’t found themselves in direct battles all that often during the 2025 season, and when they have, it’s rarely gone Piastri’s way.

Oscar Piastri lost the lead in the F1 drivers’ standings

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen have been closing the gap on Oscar Piastri in recent rounds, with Norris now leading by a single point and Verstappen just 36 points behind in third.

Over the last five races, both Norris and Verstappen have erased significant deficits to Piastri—34 points for Norris and 104 for Verstappen—each coming back from their largest gaps of the season. Now, Norris has overtaken Piastri by a single point, with Verstappen 36 points back in third.

Norris had fallen 34 points behind after retiring from the Dutch Grand Prix due to an oil leak. Despite that setback, he quietly regained form while Verstappen appeared to be gaining momentum, eventually moving back into first place for the first time since round five of 24.

Verstappen took full advantage of Red Bull’s continued floor and front wing upgrades to win in Italy, Azerbaijan and the USA. He also finished ahead of both McLarens in Singapore. Meanwhile, Norris picked up another win at Mexico City, continuing his run of outscoring Piastri over five straight rounds.

Piastri found himself struggling after team orders favoured Lando Norris

Piastri was told to let Norris through during the Italian Grand Prix – a decision that seemed to rattle him. He crashed out early at Azerbaijan after a jump-start penalty and then collided with his teammate again during the Sprint at COTA.

His only podiums since Zandvoort came at Monza (P3) and Miami (P2). Across those same races, Verstappen won three times while also picking up fourth-place finishes in Saudi Arabia and Japan.

Piastri looks back on one year since F1’s last visit to Sao Paulo

The 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix marks one year since Max Verstappen went from P17 to win without much resistance from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. Early on Lap 9 last November, Verstappen moved past Piastri into Turn 1 without much trouble – a moment that summed up how little fight there was that day.

Now facing his toughest title challenge yet, Piastri needs more than just fast lap times if he wants to take home Australia’s first championship since Alan Jones did it back in 1980. The race is scheduled for November 7-9 at Interlagos where questions around whether he can push back against Verstappen will get answered under pressure once again.