F1 Title Battle: Piastri Holds Lead Ahead of Miami Grand Prix

This article reviews the significant talking points and trends observed in the initial stages of the 2025 Formula 1 world championship battle, following the first five races of the season and leading up to this weekend`s Miami Grand Prix.

Piastri Establishes Strong Position

A week after his victory in Bahrain positioned him as the bookmakers` favorite for the world title for the first time, Oscar Piastri reinforced this new status with another commanding performance, culminating in a win over Max Verstappen in Saudi Arabia.

The Australian driver, currently in top form, has now achieved back-to-back race wins for the first time in his F1 career – a milestone his teammate Lando Norris has yet to reach within the same season. Piastri has won three of the last four races since an error in the Melbourne season-opener cost him at least a second-place finish.

In fact, since claiming his first Grand Prix victory in Hungary last July, Piastri has won five out of the subsequent 17 races – one more than his teammate and two more than Verstappen during the same period.

Observers and competitors alike are noting the 24-year-old`s increasing momentum and self-assurance throughout race weekends.

“You won`t find many people within F1 who think Max is anything other than the best driver on the grid right now,” commented Martin Brundle in his post-Jeddah column. “But Oscar Piastri at McLaren is a fast learner, and despite being significantly less experienced than Verstappen (163 fewer starts) and Norris (82 fewer F1 races), he has now won 10 per cent of his 51 race starts and leads the world championship. And he will only improve.”

Even Verstappen acknowledged after the race that he appreciated Piastri`s “very calm approach” and his ability to “deliver when he has to, barely makes mistakes.”

Part of “delivering” in Jeddah involved going wheel-to-wheel with pole-sitter Verstappen into the critical first corner of the race. Piastri ultimately emerged ahead in this duel after a better start from second place, and the stewards later ruled that he had `won` the corner when the Red Bull driver challenged him – an incident that resulted in a penalty for Verstappen. Many were impressed by Piastri`s handling of this situation.

Norris Returns to Scene of First Win Needing Qualifying Improvement

F1`s fourth visit to the Miami International Autodrome marks the first anniversary of Norris` maiden F1 win, a remarkable achievement from fifth on the grid ahead of Verstappen in his 110th race start.

Returning to the `Magic City` will hold special memories for Norris. However, he now urgently needs a result that can shift momentum back in his favor after losing his early title lead to Piastri during a challenging two weeks in the Middle East.

The Briton`s previous strength over his McLaren teammate – qualifying – is precisely where he needs a timely improvement. Costly single-lap mistakes in China, Bahrain, and particularly a crash in Saudi Arabia mean Norris has only started on the front row twice this season. His last two qualifying results have been sixth and tenth.

Both the driver and the team have recently discussed the difficulties Norris is facing in adapting his driving style to the specific characteristics of this year`s McLaren car, finding it particularly hard to extract peak performance with low fuel in qualifying.

After eventually recovering to fourth place in Jeddah, Norris commented, “I just make life tough for myself, especially in races like that. It would have been much easier, a lot more relaxed, just driving at the front. In some ways, it`s a bit easier, so I`ve got to help myself out a little bit and have better Saturdays.”

Team principal Andrea Stella described Norris`s race from tenth as “important for Lando`s morale. He showed his racecraft is absolutely brilliant, and he said on the in-lap, `we just have to polish a little bit the Saturdays and we will have fun`.”

Being ten points behind Piastri at this stage is certainly not a major cause for concern yet, but Norris, who was ahead of his teammate in Saudi until his Saturday crash dashed victory hopes, will be eager to strike back as soon as possible.

Verstappen In Touch and Still a Major Threat

The fact that a victory in Jeddah, instead of his eventual second place, would have seen Verstappen arrive in Miami as the world championship leader (instead of Piastri) speaks volumes about why the reigning four-time champion remains a significant threat to the McLaren drivers.

“We`re going to see an intra-McLaren battle with Verstappen looming large,” noted Karun Chandhok on the F1 Show podcast. “He is there, ready to pounce, and is the one maximizing things in the Red Bull camp. You cannot discount him.”

McLaren and their drivers certainly won`t discount Verstappen, who is just 12 points behind. This is especially true considering Red Bull appeared genuinely fast in Saudi Arabia and are rumored to be bringing a notable upgrade to the next European race at Imola.

Although McLaren has consistently downplayed the potential impact of upcoming changes to front-wing deflection tests on their car`s performance starting with round nine in Spain, Red Bull will also hope this regulation change works in their favor from June.

For now, the focus remains on maximizing results, something few drivers do better than Verstappen. As long as he stays within roughly the points equivalent of one race win (25 points) of the title lead, he will absolutely remain a strong contender for that fifth consecutive championship.

Will Saudi Struggle Be the Exception for Mercedes and Russell?

Was George Russell right to express significant caution about his prospects of staying in the F1 title fight this year, given how Mercedes` disappointing race day in Saudi Arabia unfolded?

The week prior in Bahrain, after securing an impressive second place between the McLarens for his third podium in four races, Russell had warned, “I don`t expect this to continue for many races to come.”

Just one Sunday later, Mercedes` Achilles` heel from 2024 – tire wear in hot conditions – returned with a vengeance in Jeddah, leaving Russell only fifth, 27 seconds behind Piastri at the checkered flag.

“Clearly our worst performance of the year so far,” admitted team principal Toto Wolff after the race. “The pace simply fell off due to blistering and overheating tires, and currently, we don`t have the explanations.”

Miami is also expected to be warm. Furthermore, it has not historically been a track where Mercedes has challenged at the very front since its addition to the calendar in 2022.

This makes the upcoming Sprint weekend another crucial early-season test for the Silver Arrows` potential to be front-runners in 2025.

Ferrari Needs Something to Happen Soon

It is still relatively early in the 24-race season to definitively rule out any potential title challenger, but Ferrari and their high-profile drivers certainly cannot afford to keep losing more points relative to the leaders if they hope to mount any kind of title challenge soon.

Their highest-placed driver, Charles Leclerc, is fifth in the standings, but he heads to Miami already 52 points adrift of Piastri – a deficit equivalent to more than two race wins.

Leclerc did lose 10 points when he was disqualified from fifth place in China, but his third-place finish in Jeddah remains the best result for the Scuderia in a Grand Prix so far this season.

There have been moments in races where the SF-25 has looked genuinely competitive, but consistent performance at the front has proven elusive, particularly in qualifying, which has compromised the team`s Sunday chances.

Lewis Hamilton is a further 16 points behind Leclerc in seventh place. The eight points he lost from the Chinese Grand Prix mean he is still trailing Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli.

Clearly, with such an early-season gap to the fast McLarens already established, things would need to change very quickly for the Briton to be in contention for a record eighth title this year. However, he did state in Japan that winning the championship in his first year in red was “not my expectation” anyway.

Nonetheless, the seven-time champion will certainly be hoping for a more promising upturn in his 2025 fortunes, despite somewhat ominously predicting after his struggles in Saudi Arabia that it`s “going to be painful” all year in a Ferrari car he is not yet fully comfortable with.

Drivers` Championship: Top Five