Oscar Piastri reveals he is not feeling the pressure of the F1 2025 title fight as he reacts to battling Lando Norris and Max Verstappen for the championship, ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.
The Australian currently leads the drivers’ standings by 10 points from Norris, his McLaren colleague, and has claimed six wins to open the season as he finds himself in a great position to bag his maiden title in the sport.
At the tender age of 24 and just three seasons into his Formula 1 career, many might be forgiven for thinking the man from Melbourne could be feeling the pressure, as Lewis Hamilton did in 2007 and Sebastian Vettel in 2009.
Yet he is confidently taking to the challenge and thanks to his icy-cool composure in the cockpit of his MCL39, has made very few errors and seems to be oozing a calmness behind the wheel similar to that of Red Bull’s Verstappen.
It’s a quality that many have ultimately compared to the mentality of world champions, but is it really true? Is the pressure getting to him? Does he see this as his one chance to win? Piastri doesn’t think so as he reacts to the F1 2025 title fight.
“I mean, for me, I’m not looking at it as my one chance,” Piastri told media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “Obviously, I don’t know that, but I don’t think there’s any use in putting extra pressure on yourself and thinking it’s do or die.
More from the Singapore GP
Catch up with Total Motorsport's latest Singapore GP coverage, including Max Verstappen's victory at Marina Bay, Ferrari's costly strategy gamble, the full race classification, and the updated 2026 Formula 1 Drivers' and Constructors' Championship standings.
“I’m still very early in my career, and it obviously is a great opportunity — but I’ll just try and win as many races as I can and hopefully it makes the championship look quite good at the end.”
Piastri draws from junior career in F1 2025 title fight
Whilst he is still relatively young in his F1 journey with just a trio of seasons, although this makes him more experienced than seven other drivers from this season, he does have considerable knowledge when it comes to fighting for the titles.
He has both won and lost championships throughout his junior career as he worked his way up to the premier class of motorsport, including winning titles in the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup and 2020 Formula 3 by slender margins of 7.5 points and three points.
He also finished second in British F4 in 2017, proving that he knows what it’s like to miss out and how to reset and rebound; suggesting he won’t become desperate behind the steering wheel if things go against him.
And this is a quality he already demonstrated in the season opener in Australia. After sliding off the road and getting stuck in the grass, he calmly got his car back into the race and went on to finish ninth for two valuable points. He then followed it up with a win in China for his first of the year.
“I think for me, it’s been something I’ve learned through my junior career and the first few years of my F1 career,” Piastri added, of handling the pressure of a title race. “That you need time away, because otherwise it can get pretty draining pretty quickly.
“That’s still exactly the same now. While it’s a slightly different situation in terms of fighting for a championship, I think I’ve already learned the lessons on how I perform best and how I come into each week fresh.
“Honestly, I’m enjoying the position we’re in. It’s quite fun trying to win races and fight for a championship. The pressure at the moment isn’t really any different — I’m just trying to go out there and do my best.
“It’s just that now it looks like we’re fighting for a win instead of a podium or points.”
