Oscar Piastri may have suffered F1 2025 defeat as Lando Norris reached the summit, but Zak Brown sees great things ahead for the Australian.
In the opinion of Brown, the McLaren Racing CEO, Piastri is a “future World Champion”. Brown called Formula 1 a “cruel sport”, after both Norris and Piastri “drove brilliantly”, but the title went Norris’ way.
Zak Brown on Oscar Piastri: ‘Future World Champion’
Piastri appeared to be marching towards a maiden World Championship at the midway point of the season. He was 34 points clear of Norris after the Dutch Grand Prix, but Norris rallied, and Piastri saw his form gradually tail off.
A late-season resurgence from Piastri could not repair the damage, as Norris took the crown by two points from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Piastri was forced to settle for third following the Abu Dhabi title decider, after a three-way battle between that trio.
Brown has no doubts that Piastri’s time will come.
“He is a future World Champion,” Brown said of Piastri when speaking with Sky F1.
“Both our guys won seven races. Drove brilliantly. They supported each other.
“It’s a cruel sport. Things sometimes go your way. Don’t.
“But I’m excited to go racing with these two guys next year.”
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While the outcome was not what Piastri had hoped for, F1 2025 was nonetheless a season of marked progression in his third campaign.
Piastri spoke of valuable lessons learned for the future, as he bids to come back in 2026 and mount a fresh charge.
A great deal of intrigue surrounds the 2026 campaign with new chassis and engine regulations on the horizon, meaning the potential for shifts in the pecking order.
“Obviously, I would have wished for a slightly different ending, but I think this year I’ve learned a hell of a lot about myself as a race car driver, myself as a person,” Piastri told PlanetF1.com and other accredited media outlets.
“I think if you had presented this season at the start of the year with the pole positions and the wins and the podiums, I definitely would have been pretty happy with that.
“And I think even in the tough moments, I’ve learned a lot about myself and how I can be stronger in the future.
“So, I think, ultimately, there’s a little bit of disappointment, obviously, but I think I can be very proud of the season I’ve had and plenty of lessons to take to the future.”
Additional reporting by Mat Coch
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