Oscar Piastri given ‘mental strength’ mission by Herbert after ‘slam dunk’ title miss
Johnny Herbert says Oscar Piastri let a "slam dunk" title slip away
In the opinion of former F1 driver and FIA steward Johnny Herbert, Oscar Piastri let a “slam dunk” title win slip away in F1 2025.
Piastri’s recovery in Qatar and Abu Dhabi means he can reflect on 2025 as a “great season”, Herbert concludes. Yet, he believes that “mental strength” is an area which Piastri must work on for when he returns in F1 2026, after losing a title which Herbert insists should have been wrapped-up by Piastri.
Oscar Piastri urged to work on ‘mental strength’
Following the Dutch Grand Prix, Piastri was 34 points clear of McLaren teammate Lando Norris at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. Verstappen, meanwhile, was 104 points off top spot, leaving his chances of a fifth consecutive title seemingly over.
But, the Dutch GP marked the start of a 100 per cent podium streak for Verstappen to season’s end. That run included six Grand Prix wins. Norris meanwhile found another gear after the disappointment of his McLaren breaking down at Zandvoort.
As for Piastri, a six-race podiumless streak derailed his title charge. He returned to form at the final rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, but Norris would seal the crown by two points from Verstappen. Piastri ended the year third, 13 points behind Norris.
To challenge for the Championship in his third F1 season is commendable from Piastri, and Herbert sees title glory in the Australian’s future.
Nonetheless, Herbert, a three-time Grand Prix winner, argues that Piastri should never have let this one get away.
He expects Piastri’s manager, Mark Webber, to work on Piastri’s “mental strength” for F1 2026.
“I don’t feel sympathy for Oscar, because he’s achieved a great season, finishing as he has. It was a strong end to the season as well. Had that massively strong start and everything seemed to be in his favour,” Herbert told a gambling platform.
“But for some reason, he let it fall through his fingers. The quality that we had seen evaporated. It was going so well at that point. A lot of people always talk about his mental strength. But actually, I think it’s the mental strength that probably needs to be strengthened.
“He missed a slam dunk. He has to get stronger. In the situation he was in, it should have been a done deal.
“Max would not allow that to have happened. Nor did Lando at the end of the day. He grew and took on the mantle of being the team’s number one.
“Oscar has got all the [World Champion] ingredients, for sure. There were those races where he wasn’t there and went missing. If he had this mental strength that everybody talks about, that would not have come into play.
“He was in a car that was able to achieve those race wins. It’s a sign and I am sure Mark Webber is onto this, that he needs to make sure that does not happen again.”
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McLaren team principal Andrea Stella is certain that “multiple” World Championship wins are in Piastri’s future.
“Lando is Champion. Effectively, we could have had two champions this year. The gap between the two was so small,” Stella told Sky F1.
“I said after qualifying [in Abu Dhabi], I think it was 30 milliseconds, that was the whole story of a season. 30 milliseconds in qualifying. Always so close on track.
“Oscar was a worthwhile champion, and he was worthwhile champion [in his] third season in Formula 1. He learned so rapidly. He had a couple of races where he struggled a bit in the famous low-grip tracks. He learned very rapidly what to do. He became immediately competitive again.
“His trajectory is phenomenal, and definitely we have a future multiple World Champion in Oscar.”
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