Series leader Oscar Piastri has called for calm within McLaren and rejected suggestions that the team should prioritise one driver in the closing stages of the Formula 1 season, following a fifth-place finish at the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
Not the weekend Osc had hoped for, but we’ll be straight back to it next week 💪#McLaren | #USGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/lMynLb7qNp
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 19, 2025
Piastri, 24, admitted he lacked both qualifying sharpness and race pace at the Circuit of the Americas, describing the weekend as below par. The Australian’s advantage has now narrowed to 14 points over teammate Lando Norris, while Max Verstappen’s victory in Texas trimmed his own deficit to 40 points, with five rounds and two sprint races remaining.
Asked whether McLaren should abandon its equal opportunity approach and back a single title bid, Piastri was firm in his response.
“We are so incredibly tight… it is far too close to start picking one or the other,” he said, noting that both he and Norris deserve a fair chance to fight for the championship.
The weekend belonged to Verstappen, who completed a clean sweep with sprint and grand prix wins to continue Red Bull’s late-season resurgence and intensify a three-way battle for the crown. Norris finished second after a late move on Charles Leclerc, while Piastri settled for fifth.
The updated standings leave Piastri on 346 points, Norris on 332, and Verstappen on 306.
Piastri said the immediate priority is to understand where performance slipped in Austin, particularly over one lap, and to rediscover the rhythm that carried him earlier in the campaign. McLaren’s leadership has maintained publicly that both drivers will continue to receive equal support, a stance Piastri endorsed as the margins tighten.
With 141 points still available, the championship remains wide open. McLaren leaves Texas with the constructors’ crown virtually secured but faces the delicate challenge of managing two title contenders within the same garage as the season heads towards its dramatic conclusion.
