Australia's 'Piastri Robbed' Narrative Misreads McLaren's 2025 Season

The narrative that Oscar Piastri was "robbed" of the 2025 Formula 1 world championship by McLaren team orders is a pervasive sentiment in Australian media, but a closer look at the season's data reveals a more nuanced story. Piastri finished third, 13 points behind champion teammate Lando Norris, due to a mid-season dip in his own consistency, not because of team bias.

Why it matters:

The accusation of favoritism strikes at the heart of Formula 1's competitive integrity and team dynamics. For McLaren, a team rebuilding its reputation, such narratives can be damaging. For Piastri, framing his near-miss as a robbery risks overshadowing his genuine achievements and the specific areas where his title challenge genuinely faltered compared to Norris's relentless form.

The details:

• The primary evidence cited for bias is the position swap at the Italian Grand Prix, where Piastri let Norris by. Analysis shows this resulted in a net six-point swing. At the time of the swap, Piastri held a 31-point lead in the championship.
• Piastri's Mid-Season Struggles: The critical period that defined the championship was Piastri's run from the start of the European season until Qatar. During this stretch, he failed to secure a single podium finish.
• Costly Errors: His campaign was marred by specific incidents: two crashes in Azerbaijan, being the likely culprit in the COTA Sprint collision that took out both McLarens, and another crash out of the Interlagos Sprint.
• Norris's Metronome Consistency: As Piastri's form wavered, Norris found and maintained the extreme consistency that was once Piastri's hallmark. By the time Piastri rediscovered his podium pace in Qatar, the points gap had become insurmountable.

The big picture:

While "papaya rules" (team orders) are unpopular, they are a reality in a tight championship fight. The data suggests they were not the decisive factor in 2025. The title was ultimately decided by driver performance across the full season. Piastri's third season was still a resounding success, proving he is a championship-caliber driver, but it also highlighted the fine margin between winning and losing at the highest level. His challenge now is to harness that experience for a more complete campaign in 2026.