Oscar Piastri to apply 'Max Verstappen lessons' in 2026 title rematch with Lando Norris

Oscar Piastri says he will draw on lessons from both his own costly mistakes and Max Verstappen's stunning late-season comeback as he prepares for another championship fight with McLaren teammate Lando Norris in 2026. The Australian led the standings for much of 2025 before a dramatic collapse, finishing third behind champion Norris and Verstappen.

Why it matters:

Piastri's self-analysis highlights the mental and strategic evolution required to become a consistent title contender. Learning from a rival's historic comeback—Verstappen overturned a 104-point deficit in nine races—while dissecting his own errors could be the key to converting early-season pace into a full-season championship. For McLaren, managing two elite drivers in a renewed intra-team rivalry will be a critical test.

The details:

• Piastri's 2025 championship challenge unraveled after the Italian Grand Prix, where team orders forced him to give a position back to Norris following a slow pit stop for the Briton.
• The following race in Azerbaijan became a disaster weekend: a crash in qualifying, a jump start, and another crash in the race led to a DNF.
• This began a steep decline. Over the next six races (Azerbaijan to Las Vegas), his results included another DNF, several fifth-place finishes, and a disqualification in Vegas for excessive plank wear. He also crashed out of the Sprint races in Austin and Interlagos.
• Verstappen's Charge: As Piastri faltered, Max Verstappen executed a remarkable recovery. From 104 points behind Piastri after the Dutch GP, he not only erased the gap but built an 11-point lead by season's end—a 115-point swing.
• Piastri ultimately lost the championship lead in Mexico (Round 20) and could not reclaim it, finishing 13 points behind Norris and 11 behind Verstappen.

What's next:

Entering his fourth F1 season, Piastri is focusing on internal improvement while studying external benchmarks.

• He acknowledges that the "main lesson" comes from his own second-half slump, describing it as a period where "a lot of things... happened that you wouldn't wish for."
• However, he also explicitly notes the value in analyzing "Max and Red Bull coming back from such a big deficit."
• The 2026 season sets the stage for a highly anticipated rematch within McLaren, with Piastri aiming to apply these hard-learned lessons in consistency and resilience against the reigning world champion.