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Before the 2025 Formula One world championship Oscar Piastri said he has what it takes to win the title – his win in China makes it look like the Aussie can back up his words.
The last time an Australian driver was Formula One world champion the internet didn’t exist, a bloke named Malcolm Fraser was Prime Minister and a four-cylinder Holden Commodore was launched.
Ahead of the 2025 Formula One (F1) season Oscar Piastri said it bluntly: “I do think that I can become world champion this year.”
The Australian – who hails from Melbourne – scored a dominant victory in last Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix in a near perfect weekend after a mistake cost him any chance of victory at Albert Park a week earlier.
“Oscar, fabulous drive ... but for a very wet turn 13 last weekend in Australia, he could well have been leading the world championship – well he would have been leading the world championship, ” said former McLaren driver and Sky Sports commentator, Martin Brundle, after Piastri’s triumph in Shanghai.
“Tremendous – he’s only 23 years of age – there’s a lot of winning ahead for Oscar Piastri.”
Despite leaving Melbourne ninth – and watching his McLaren team-mate Norris win – Piastri was nearly flawless in China, winning the third grand prix of his career after taking his first pole position.
He only fell short of maximum points by finishing second to Lewis Hamilton in Saturday’s 19-lap Sprint, an emphatic and emotional first victory since the Brit moved to Ferrari.
“I hope this is the start of my title challenge. It has been an incredible weekend from start to finish. The car was fantastic the entire time,” Piastri said in the immediate post-race broadcast interview.
In China, Norris finished the Sprint in eighth place, qualified third for the grand prix before coming home second behind Piastri, brake issues stretching the gap to the Aussie to 9.7 seconds at the chequered flag.
With the form of the two McLarens from last season – which saw the team win its first constructors title in 26 years – spilling over into 2025, Piastri’s biggest championship rival so far has been his team-mate.
McLaren have won both grands prix so far in 2025 with a win each for Piastri and Norris, including the one-two in China.
“We believe we do have the best car – that’s a fact,” Norris said to Sky Sports after the race in China.
The Brit still leads the championship, but Piastri pulled the points gap back from 23 after Melbourne to only 10 over the weekend.
“We’ve got different strengths and weaknesses as drivers. This weekend there were certain points where it just worked a bit to my favour, naturally,” Piastri said in a media conference after his China win.
“There’s been other weekends where it definitely hasn’t, and I’ve had to try and look at things from how Lando’s driven and apply them myself.”
While only two races out of 24 F1 weekends have taken place so far this season – with five more Sprint races to come – the title battle between the team-mates is well and truly on for 2025.
It’s worth remembering Max Verstappen won seven of the first ten races in 2024 – and has only won two in the sixteen since, still enough to clinch his fourth championship last year.
While still a long way off, an Australian F1 world champion is a genuine possibility in 2025 and a salivating thought for fans.
Alan Jones remains the most recent Australian world champion, having won it for Williams in 1980 – the team’s first title – a staggering 45 years ago.
Piastri could achieve something Jones and three-times world champion Sir Jack Brabham managed – yet eluded Daniel Ricciardo, Mark Webber, Gary Brabham and David Brabham, all Australians who have competed in F1 since Jones’ 1980 success.
Jack Doohan – the second Aussie in this year’s field – means Australian drivers make up a disproportionate 10 per cent of drivers (considering our population), but his Alpine is not the competitive machine Piastri has in the McLaren.
Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Of the Australian drivers to have ever made F1, Sir Jack Brabham still has the most grands prix wins with 14, ahead of Jones on 12 and Webber – who manages Piastri – with nine.
Piastri is on three – in only his third season – behind Ricciardo’s career total of eight, but with a competitive car underneath him appears set for more glory.
Yet nothing is certain in motor racing.
It’s far too early and presumptuous to say he’ll be champion, but on his current form Piastri has already cemented himself as one of Australia’s most complete racing drivers. That alone makes him already one of the best in the world.
The next Formula One grand prix takes place on 6 April – Piastri’s 24th birthday – at Suzuka, Japan.
