Piastri’s puzzling season
“Oscar Piastri is the driver I just couldn’t figure out this year,” Grosjean told beIN Sports. After a long and closely contested season decided at the final race, Oscar Piastri finished third in the standings, behind championship winner Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. This was a surprising result considering that after the Dutch Grand Prix, the 24-year-old Melbourne native appeared untouchable.
“He was incredibly strong up until the summer break, but after Monza, in those four or five races… it felt like his cousin was driving,” Romain Grosjean joked, referring to his return to F1 with Haas in September. “Then suddenly, Qatar came along and we saw the Oscar we know again: the fastest on track, capable of taking pole position. He also looked strong in Abu Dhabi, but by then he had already lost too many points.”
A learning season for Piastri
Although his title chances evaporated, Grosjean believes the 2025 season will serve as an important lesson for Oscar Piastri. “I don’t know Oscar very well personally, but I really like him as a person and as a driver. I think he was very disappointed by this season. If you go into the summer break with a 34-point lead and finish the season 13 points behind… that’s not what you hope for.”
Romain Grosjean is confident in Oscar Piastri’s potential: “He will learn from all of this. He’s still very young and has only competed in a few seasons. He has already shown great talent and many outstanding qualities. If he continues to do what he does best and addresses the issues that slowed him down, he will become a world champion.”
Romain Grosjean’s candid analysis highlights the intense mental and physical demands placed on F1 drivers, where even a slight dip in confidence or adaptation can dramatically affect results over several races. Oscar Piastri’s mid-season inconsistency, despite bookending the year with stellar performances, clearly cost him the championship fight against teammate Lando Norris.
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