Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Australia, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, McLaren, Formula 1
Ryan Smart
Topics: Australia, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, McLaren, Formula 1
Australian media have made their feelings clear on Oscar Piastri after the McLaren scored just 10 points out of a maximum 33 available at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Piastri entered the weekend one point behind McLaren team-mate Lando Norris at the top of the Drivers' Championship standings.
But the Australian endured a horror weekend, crashing out of the rain-affected sprint race after losing control of his car coming out of turn two.
He qualified third for the Grand Prix, but was given a 10-second time penalty after he was adjudged to have caused a collision between himself, Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc.
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Piastri eventually finished the race in fifth place, with team-mate Norris picking up maximum points in both the sprint and the Grand Prix proper to move 24 points ahead in the race for the Drivers' Championship.
Piastri's title chances are now out of his own hands, as he could win all three remaining races and the sprint in Qatar, with Norris finishing in second, and still not win the championship.
If his form doesn't pick up - he hasn't been on the podium in five races - the Australian could yet even drop below Max Verstappen, who is 25 points behind, into third in the standings.
Australian outlet Fox Sports described the decision to award Piastri a penalty as 'jarring', though noted the FIA stewarding document which stated that the McLaren driver had failed to 'have its front axle at least alongside the mirror of the other car prior to and at the apex'.
Meanwhile, news.com.au stated that Piastri's 'world championship dream is quickly turning into a nightmare', though also labelled his time penalty as 'highly dubious'.
The Sydney Morning Herald, meanwhile, note that Piastri 'has never had it worse' in the 2025 season - a reference to the fact that his points deficit to Norris is now at its highest this season.
They also claim that his title chances are 'hanging on life support'.
"Piastri will need a seismic momentum shift that's become increasingly difficult to imagine, and a smattering of luck that wasn't forthcoming in Sunday's Sao Paulo Grand Prix," they add.
And The West Australian dubbed Piastri's Sunday as a 'grim Grand Prix', writing that 'his hopes of becoming F1 world champion took a potentially calamitous blow'.
The outlet added: "Australia's great hope Piastri ended up finishing fifth at Interlagos to continue a woeful run of five races in a row when he's failed to make the podium'.