Oscar Piastri Delivers Damning Verdict on Max Verstappen’s Title Chances
Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri was brutally honest when asked about Max Verstappen's chances of retaining the title.
On Sunday afternoon, the Formula One title race took a shock turn as current championship leader Piastri took himself out of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix by crashing at Turn One on the first lap.
The incident was just the latest part of what was a difficult weekend for the Australian after he also crashed in the final part of Saturday's qualifying.
Piastri's mistake offered the perfect opportunity for both teammate Lando Norris and reigning champion Verstappen to close the distance on top of the championship title.
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And it was the Dutchman that capitalised on this chance by winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, leading to reporters asking Piastri if he now sees Verstappen as a title contender.
Verstappen's win in Baku now puts him 69 points behind Piastri and 44 points behind Norris with seven races left on the 2025 calendar.
But it appears that, despite coming away from Baku with zero points, Piastri isn't too concerned about Verstappen's chances of winning a record-breaking sixth consecutive World Drivers' title.
“I’m not going to rule him out, but I’m honestly not too concerned with that," admitted Piastri post-race.
“I’m just trying to bounce back from this weekend and put in the best performances that I can.
“I know that if I get back to where I know I can be, then I’ll be more than okay, so that’s what I’m going to focus on.”
Luckily for Piastri, Norris, who is currently second in the driver's standings, wasn't able to gain much on his McLaren teammate, finishing the race in seventh and earning just six points, taking the gap to 25 points.
What does Verstappen need to happen to win the 2025 championship?
If Verstappen and Red Bull can keep up their current form and finish the season perfectly, then it is still possible that they could come away with the Drivers' championship.
To do so, the Dutch driver would need to outscore Piastri by 9.9 points and Norris by 6.3 points in each of the seven race weekends left on the 2025 calendar.
This gives him seven main races and three sprint races, in Texas, Sao Paulo and Qatar, to make a charge to retain his title.
However, in order for this to happen it is likely that Verstappen will need to win each of the main races while hoping that McLaren continue to have poor race weekends similar to Baku.
Topics: Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Formula 1
Ben McCrum