Oscar Piastri heads into the Monaco Grand Prix 13 points clear at the top of the drivers’ championship. McLaren teammate Lando Norris is directly behind, with Max Verstappen lurking in third.

Piastri looked set to continue his three-win streak when he qualified on pole at Imola last weekend. But Verstappen executed an all-time great overtake around the outside of turn one and disappeared into the distance.

The championship leader ended up finishing third as Norris passed him late on, utilising much fresher tyres. More worryingly, Red Bull looked legitimately faster than McLaren for the first time this year.

It’s thought that Christian Horner leaked a story to the press about FIA technical directives that potentially slowed the Woking outfit down. But equally, the success of Red Bull’s upgrade won’t be determined by one race.

Photo by Jure Makovec/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Despite his team’s considerable performance advantage to date, Verstappen is refusing to go away in the title race. Remarkably, he’s scored 124 of his team’s 131 points.

Oscar Piastri says his style of racing is similar to Max Verstappen

This is only Piastri’s third year in F1, and his first as a legitimate contender. In 2024, he won two races and scored eight podiums but lacked the consistency of Norris, who put Verstappen under more pressure.

Thus, the battles between Piastri and Verstappen have taken on a greater significance this year. The Australian impressively held his own in Jeddah, with his opponent picking up a five-second penalty after darting through the run-off, and in Miami, where he fought his way past the polesitter en route to victory.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Piastri said he was less ‘brutal’ than the 65-time race-winner. But generally, their approach to racing is similar.

He acknowledges that he too is willing to ‘push the limits’, particularly against Verstappen. And he feels their scraps are characterised by mutual respect.

Drivers’ Championship

1

Oscar Piastri

146

2

Lando Norris

133

3

Max Verstappen

124

“I feel like in all honesty, I have – maybe it’s a slightly less brutal approach – but it’s certainly not dissimilar,” Piastri said.

“Max and I race each other in quite a similar way. Very robust, uncompromising, and I think we both push the limits to an extent. I always try to be fair, but it’s a very fine line between good, hard racing and just overstepping the mark, and it’s always difficult to find that balance.

“But I feel like the both of us have a lot of respect for racing each other. We know what to expect, especially after a few battles this year.”

McLaren star Oscar Piastri explains why F1 fans are wrong about him

On the other side of the garage, Norris has complained that he has to back out when racing Verstappen to avoid an accident. The Dutchman picked up penalties in Austria and Mexico following run-ins with his off-track friend.

While he’s seen as a more composed figure than Norris, Piastri still gets nervous before every session. F1 fans seem to think that he’s entirely unflappable.

Speaking before the race in Imola, Piastri said Verstappen ‘knows’ he’ll stand his ground. That was a firm statement, but he was completely outwitted on the opening lap.

Further wheel-to-wheel action is, of course, unlikely in Monaco. Instead, it’s likely to come down to who nails qualifying, where the two drivers are currently tied at three poles apiece.