Oscar Piastri shrugs off the pressure of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen at the F1 2025 Miami GP as the Australian admits he enjoys being hunted, as he assumes the lead of the drivers’ championship.
An impressive performance at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit allowed the 23-year-old to claim his third victory of the season and move 10 points ahead of his McLaren colleague in the standings.
After an aggressive move into Turn 1 in Saudi Arabia, he narrowly fended off the defending champion across 50 laps to claim a monumental 25 points to add to his tally as his coworker could only recover to fourth by the flag.
Now as the sport pitches up at the Miami International Autodrome, he now finds himself in the unique position of being the man to beat as the likes of Norris, Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari bid to hound him down.
But this isn’t bothering Piastri, known for his cool composure, as he shrugs off the pressure of Norris and Verstappen at the F1 2025 Miami GP as he admits he enjoys being hunted.
“To be honest it [ leading the championship] doesn’t really feel that much different,” Piastri told members of the media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “Again I’m not really that concerned with that.
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“I’m just trying to get the best performance I can every weekend and make sure I drive as well as possible, and make the car as good as possible.
“I think, for myself I quite enjoy being in the position of being hunted because normally that means you are doing something right.
“I’m pretty relaxed, the gap is very small and we are only at round five or six now, so I’m not too concerned with that.”
Piastri proud of recovery as he shrugs off pressure of Australian GP
Piastri began his campaign looking to claim victory at the Albert Park Circuit in his home race, but it all quickly soured in Melbourne when he went sliding off the road in the wet conditions.
Dropping from second to out of the points after being momentarily stranded in the grass, he managed to recover to ninth and since then, hasn’t come close to making such a costly error.
Two pole positions and three race wins have followed suit as he stakes his championship credentials, and the Aussie admits his fine recovery is something he’s proud of.
“I’m very proud of the reason why I’m leading the championship,” Piastri added. “Because Melbourne was a tricky start, and we have had four very successful races since then.
“It is a great effort from myself and the whole team. I’m proud of the performance we have put in to achieve that championship leader position rather than actually leading the championship.”
