Oscar Piastri isn’t backing down from his championship fight, making it clear he’ll keep pushing for wins until his lead is much bigger or the season’s nearly over.
“I’ve had a much bigger gap than this, and had it pretty much erased before the final round,” Piastri told GPblog.
“So I’ve got personal experience of this not being a comfortable lead.”
The Australian driver isn’t about to start playing it safe or settling for second-best finishes.
“It’s still far too early to be calculating and settling for positions that aren’t first,” he said.
After Monza, where Lando Norris managed to trim Piastri’s advantage by 3 points, the gap now stands at 31 points.
One DNF could completely shake up the championship picture, which explains why Piastri remains focused on maximum points at every opportunity.
“For me, the approach is still exactly the same. That won’t change until the gap is pretty significantly bigger, or the amount of races is significantly smaller.”
Now in his third F1 season, Piastri has a real shot at his first World Championship. But he’s not about to throw it away by suddenly changing his driving style or taking unnecessary risks.
“The risk attitude five races ago, you didn’t know the championship picture was going to look like this, and if you took a different amount of risk either way, then the gap is going to be potentially smaller than what it is.”
“[It] could potentially be bigger, but I’d like to think that my approach to risk is pretty measured, so for me, that doesn’t really change regardless of the championship situation.”
## McLaren team orders could decide the championship
The drivers won’t be the only ones determining who takes home the 2025 title. McLaren has already stepped in several times this season with team orders and strategic decisions, most recently at the Italian Grand Prix.
Piastri revealed that the team has held internal discussions to clarify how they’ll handle similar situations in the future. With tensions potentially rising as the season reaches its climax, how McLaren manages its two drivers could ultimately decide the championship.
The remaining races will show whether Piastri’s measured approach pays off or if a more aggressive strategy might be needed to secure his first world title.
