Oscar Piastri’s title campaign has taken a sharp turn. The Australian, who once led the 2025 championship by 34 points after his win in the Netherlands, has since struggled to keep pace with McLaren teammate Lando Norris. Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes the reason is simple: Piastri has reached his performance ceiling.
What Jaques had to say
In an interview with Sky Sports F1, Villeneuve said Piastri’s recent form reflects a young driver already operating at his maximum, while Norris has found another level. “Piastri is not stepping up. He was already at his limit,” Villeneuve said. “When you have to go that extra two tenths, suddenly you find problems in the car that didn’t exist.”
Early Dominance Fades
Piastri’s season started with consistency and control. Seven wins in the opening 15 rounds placed him as championship favorite. But since his victory at Zandvoort, his form has unraveled. The last five races have produced no wins, and the last four have seen him off the podium entirely.
Crashes in Azerbaijan qualifying and the race, combined with a Sprint collision with Norris in Austin, marked the beginning of a slump. Those errors, Villeneuve argued, expose what happens when a driver is forced to push beyond comfort. “When you drive within the limit, the car is perfect,” he said. “You save the tires, everything feels easy. But when you need two tenths more, nothing works. It gets in your head, and you just get slower.”
Villeneuve’s Verdict: Confidence Has Shifted
Villeneuve believes Norris’s rise is what truly exposed the gap. He suggested Piastri’s strong early season may have benefited from Norris’s struggles to adapt to the car. “We didn’t have an extremely fantastic Lando early in the season,” he said. “Everyone said Piastri had stepped up, but maybe it was just Lando who wasn’t comfortable.”
Once Norris rediscovered form after Baku, the balance shifted. “Lando is driving faster and better than he’s been all season,” Villeneuve said. “And when your teammate steps up like that, you start doubting yourself. You look at the data, try to copy, and that’s when things go wrong.”
The psychological side of that adjustment, Villeneuve noted, can be brutal. Once a driver loses confidence, even small adjustments can make the car feel alien. “You start inventing setups that don’t exist,” he said. “You doubt your way of driving, and suddenly, nothing feels right.”
Brundle: Baku Was the Breaking Point
Sky Sports analyst Martin Brundle echoed Villeneuve’s view, pointing to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as the key turning point in Piastri’s campaign. After a jump start and two crashes that weekend, the Australian’s consistency vanished.
“Baku would have scattered his brain,” Brundle said. “That was a very difficult weekend, and it seems to have gone off the rails. Something’s happened in Oscar’s head. He’s lost a bit of confidence.”
Brundle added that the calm, controlled demeanor that once defined Piastri now appears shaken. “We described him as horizontal all season because nothing seemed to bother him. But now that glass ceiling has cracked. He’s struggling.”
The Road Ahead
With four rounds remaining, starting in São Paulo, Piastri trails Norris by a single point. Yet momentum is against him. The Australian insists he won’t change his approach, but both Villeneuve and Brundle suggest his biggest battle may now be mental rather than mechanical.
The McLaren car remains quick, and the team continues to operate smoothly. But in a championship fight this close, the smallest psychological edge matters. Norris has looked composed, aggressive, and confident. Piastri, once the picture of calm, now faces the first major test of his Formula 1 career.
Whether he can reset and regain his early-season rhythm will define how the 2025 campaign ends — and perhaps how his future in Formula 1 unfolds. For Villeneuve, the question is simple: “When your teammate steps up, can you find another gear? That’s what separates the good from the great.”
