Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.

Championship leader Oscar Piastri is now 34 points ahead of Lando Norris after his teammate’s forced retirement in the closing stages of the Dutch Grand Prix.

With a maximum of 249 points on offer to any individual driver in the final nine rounds of the season, Piastri is by no means across the finish line yet.

With everything we know from their two seasons together, and what we have learnt this year, we take a look at whether Piastri can cruise to victory in the final nine rounds and three sprint races to become the first Australian F1 champion since Alan Jones in 1980, or whether Norris can reel him in.

Here’s our race-by-race verdict.

As was most often the case in 2024, Norris qualified ahead at Monza last year but not by a great deal. Just over a tenth of a second separated the pair. That is very much as it has been in 2025.

The race, though, was where Piastri asserted his authority over Norris. He qualified one spot behind but put a bold move on his teammate at the second chicane on the opening lap, taking the lead. On the day, he lost out to Ferrari’s one-stop strategy, but still finished in front of Norris.

The high-speed Monza circuit is a track where pushing too hard can lead to a locked brake and losing time that’s difficult to get back in qualifying. Could Norris’s new all-out attack approach hinder him in Italy?

Our verdict: Piastri

Looking at their results from the past two seasons, Azerbaijan is one of only two races where Piastri has an advantage in average finishing position. That is largely thanks to his victory there last year, which was more decisive and impressive than his maiden grand prix win in Hungary.

Oscar Piastri on the podium after winning the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.Credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images

It is difficult to........

© WA Today