Oscar Piastri hints at major change as F1 title fight intensifies

Oscar Piastri has hinted some of the decisions he makes on track "will change" as the F1 title fight against Lando Norris intensifies.

Piastri's commanding performance and win in Spain was his fifth from nine races in 2025, and leads team-mate Norris by 10 points, with Max Verstappen 49 behind the Australian.

It is therefore likely that McLaren will have its first drivers' champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2008, and win both titles in the same season for the first time since Mika Hakkinen led the team to the double in 1998, given its 197-point lead over Ferrari in the constructors'. 

Not since Alan Jones in 1980 has an Australian become world champion, with Sir Jack Brabham the only other driver to do so, winning three titles in 1959, 1960, and 1966.

After winning in Bahrain this season, Piastri became the first Australian since his manager Mark Webber after the 2010 Japanese GP to lead the drivers' standings, and given his strong form, is currently regarded as the favourite for the world championship.

Reflecting on that possibility, Piastri was his typically calm self, but hinted that a major change could come in his driving style.

"A bit, yes," he said when asked about it. "But I've also thought about it before this year as well.

"It's very easy to kind of just go: 'Yeah, that's the situation I'm in', but what I've been doing in the past 10 years, especially the past two years, has all been building to try and prepare for when I'm in this situation.

"And it's very easy for me to just go: 'Well, if I execute this practice session, execute this qualifying session, execute this race, naturally my championship's going to start to look pretty rosy.'

"It's obviously still very early in the year, and once you get later in the season, the pressure ramps up.

"Potentially, some of the decisions you make on the track start to change a bit. But for now, it's just about trying to score the most points I can and go out there and try and win every race."