Three ex-F1 drivers say Piastri the man to beat

Jun.9 (GMM)  Three former Formula 1 drivers believe Oscar Piastri is emerging as the clear favourite to win the 2025 world championship.

As Max Verstappen and Red Bull begin to concede that beating the dominant McLarens may no longer be realistic, attention is turning to a two-horse race between McLaren teammates Piastri and Lando Norris.

Christian Klien, a former Jaguar and Red Bull driver, has been particularly impressed with Piastri’s calm and pace in only his third season in F1.

"We mustn't forget that Piastri is only in his third season in Formula 1," he told motorsport-total.com. "And yet he is demonstrating incredible composure.

"He's also a very fast learner, which you can clearly see in comparison with Norris. Lando is an incredibly fast driver, but under the pressure of Piastri he is gradually falling apart."

Speaking to Bild, David Coulthard was asked whether Piastri and Verstappen share a similar personality - cool and ruthless - compared to the more emotionally open Norris.

"Lando learned a lesson from last year's world championship battle," the former McLaren and Red Bull driver said. "I think he's become mentally stronger. And there's no doubt that he's fast. The stopwatch doesn't lie.

"But the mental side of it is a constant topic for him, because he's so open about it. And those who share a lot also get asked a lot. Oscar does what Kimi Raikkonen and Mika Hakkinen did - stay silent."

However, Coulthard rejected the suggestion that 2025 is still a three-way fight.

"I don't have a crystal ball," he said, "but I think Max has been seeing it as a one-on-one battle since the first corner in Saudi Arabia.

"When Max tried to overtake Oscar on the outside - as he did so often last year with Lando - the latter held his ground coldly. Oscar showed Max 'I'm not Lando, you know'.

"From that moment on, Max knew it would be a 50-50 duel."

Meanwhile, Ralf Schumacher believes McLaren’s strict equal-driver policy may soon be dropped if one driver pulls ahead.

"I'd like to wait a little longer," he told Sky Deutschland, "but I think Piastri has been consistently at his best - except in Monaco, where perhaps a little more was expected from him.

"But I do think the world championship will be decided internally before the summer break. If Norris continues to be behind Piastri and Max consistently exerts pressure, then at some point McLaren will have to pull the ripcord and say 'ok, we need to concentrate on just one of them'.

"I think it will happen soon, because they don't want to lose the drivers' title again – that would be incredible for McLaren this year. The constructors' title is in the bag, so it's just about the drivers' now."]]>