Oscar Piastri: « I’m no longer afraid of being a little more insistent »

Two leaders at McLaren in 2025? While the British team was able to celebrate its constructor’s title last season, the cards will be reshuffled this year. Although the team seems to be the favorite, several teams could also stand out. Some pressure is also being felt internally, with two drivers who seem to want to take on even more responsibilities.

A driver who is gaining more and more influence in the team

This is particularly the case for Oscar Piastri. In his second season in the category, the Australian has significantly contributed to McLaren’s success this season, securing victories when Lando Norris faced more challenges, such as in Baku, along with eight podiums. While his pace on the track is unquestionable (he notably finished in the top 4 eight consecutive times between the Austrian Grand Prix and the Singapore Grand Prix), the former Formula 2 and Formula 3 champion has also evolved off the track, especially in his interactions with his engineers. He now shows more authority in his communication, without negatively affecting the environment within the Woking team.

Interviewed by Autosport, the Australian driver was keen to put this aspect into perspective. “Maybe I know a little better what I want from the team or the car, but I think overall it’s very similar,” he stated when discussing his role within the team in 2024. However, the Australian is aware that his lack of experience does not allow him to dictate the development curve to the engineers. “I’m certainly not, in my second year, telling the aerodynamicists how to design the car or things like that. I’m still trying to give the most useful feedback possible where I can.”

« Maybe now, knowing certain people better, I’m not afraid to be a bit more persistent in what I ask for. But I definitely haven’t changed my personality from one year to the next. It simply comes with experience, and the best way to help is to do my best every weekend. » A leadership position that is asserting itself more and more as he enters his third season with the team, still alongside Lando Norris. While some people fear tumultuous relations between the two drivers due to their closeness in terms of performance, the Australian believes that their relationship is in great shape and that if it remains so, then success will come for McLaren.

McLaren drivers who work well together

« I think one of the reasons we’ve been so successful in our progression is because Lando and I work very well together on these kinds of things. We have always wanted very similar things for the car. This is very useful for the team. As long as we continue to say the same things, it means that, even if we are not at the top yet, it also proves that we are still working on the same wavelength. » If these statements hold true next season, then McLaren seems well on its way to clinching a second consecutive constructor title and even, why not, its first driver’s title since 2008.