Piastri Leads F1 with Bahrain Win Verstappen Trails

April 13, 2025, 8:00 PM

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Following the Bahrain Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri is the first driver to claim multiple victories this Formula 1 season. Despite a false start at his home race in Australia, the McLaren driver has now surpassed Max Verstappen in the drivers’ championship and only has Lando Norris ahead of him. However, Piastri is not yet ready to talk about a title fight with his teammate.

After the Grand Prix of Japan, Max Verstappen closed in on Lando Norris to within one point in the drivers’ championship, thanks to his victory in Japan, fourth place in China, and a second-place finish in Australia. The four-time world champion had until then split the McLaren drivers in the standings and solidified his second position with his demonstration at Suzuka.

But after Oscar Piastri’s second victory of the season in Bahrain – making him the first driver to claim multiple wins this year – it seems that it is primarily his Australian teammate Norris who has the most to fear. This is because Max Verstappen did not play a significant role and finished in sixth place.

Multiple Title Contenders

If anything became clear during the winter test in Bahrain, it was that the MCL39 was by far the best car on the field. However, even though the McLaren drivers have taken the lead in the championship after four races, Piastri is not yet ready to talk about an internal battle between him and Lando Norris. “I thought it would start in Melbourne, but it’s still too early to talk about that,” he believes. “I think we are where we need to be at the moment, but it’s going to be a tough fight. There are multiple title contenders, but from the perspective of the drivers’ championship, that changes every week.”

According to Piastri, this makes it ‘more difficult’ for them. He therefore expects that if this trend continues, it will eventually result in an internal battle between the McLaren teammates. This has happened before at the British racing team, during the legendary rivalry between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. From 1988 to 1991, they gave each other no quarter, resulting in political games and incidents on the track. “It’s going to be a tough year no matter what. As long as we have the best car, it will mainly be a hard fight between Lando and me,” Piastri suspects.