Piastri speechless at McLaren error as title hopes dive

Ian Chadband | December 1, 2025

Oscar Piastri has again been left the picture of dismay as his world championship title hopes took a potentially decisive hit through a calamitous strategic blunder by his McLaren team.

The Australian, comfortably the fastest driver over the whole weekend in Lusail, had to settle for second behind victorious Max Verstappen on Sunday, slipping back to third in the title race after McLaren’s decision not to pit their drivers under an early safety car while all their rivals did.

It meant he lost what had looked a surefire win and teammate Lando Norris could only finish fourth, his championship lead now trimmed to just 12 points over Red Bull’s reigning champ Verstappen going into the championship finale in Abu Dhabi next Sunday.

Piastri, who would have been hot on the heels of Norris if he’d added the victory to Saturday’s sprint win, was left so fed up, he could only sigh to the team over the car radio at the end: “I don’t have any words…”  

He’s now four points behind second-placed Verstappen, as both McLaren drivers and team principal Andrea Stella admitted the team had got it badly wrong with their decision to stay out on the track.

Stella apologised to his drivers over the decision which helped Carl Sainz grab a shock third place in his Williams, with Piastri shrugging later: “Obviously, it’s a little bit tough to swallow. Clearly, we didn’t get it right tonight. 

“I drove the best race that I could, as fast as I could, and left nothing left out there, but it wasn’t to be unfortunately.

“In hindsight, it’s pretty obvious what we would have done — but sure, we’ll discuss it as a team.”

Pole-sitter Piastri had enjoyed a stellar weekend, having dominated every session and won the sprint, and he again made a perfect start to show similar domination.

But McLaren’s fateful decision not to pit under the safety car, after Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber had been sent spinning off on lap seven after being clipped by Pierre Gasly’s Alpine, proved the wrong gamble.

It resulted in Piastri and Norris ending up having to do the chasing in a race where two pit stops were mandatory. 

After his second stop, Piastri was 17.5 seconds behind Verstappen, a deficit he’d reduced to under eight seconds at the finish as the Dutchman celebrated race win No.70. “

The decision to stay out on track rather than pit had been questioned over the radio by Norris, who could have suffered an even worse afternoon if he hadn’t overtaken Kimi Antonelli on the last lap to secure two extra points for fourth.

“That’s life. Everyone has bad weekends. I take it on the chin, we all take it on the chin, and we will see what we can do next weekend,” shrugged Norris.

Norris, who would have lifted the title with a victory in Qatar, is still in control of his own destiny, a dozen points clear with 25 points still to go to next week’s victor.

But Piastri’s hopes now look bleak. Sixteen points behind Norris, even if he wins next week, his teammate could finish only fifth in Abu Dhabi and still be ahead of him.

Unless calamity strikes Norris, Piastri’s best hope looks to finish as runner-up.

Asked what he could to regroup, he shrugged: “Just drive like I did this weekend. That’s all I can do. It was more than good enough to dominate this weekend, so if I can do the same thing next weekend, then we’ll see.”

Verstappen, 104 points behind the then leader Piastri at the end of August, could still complete the most sensational of comebacks, but even if he was to win in Abu Dhabi, third place would still be enough for Norris to take the crown. 

“It’s still possible now,” said the old Red Bull miracle worker, looking for title No.5.