Oscar Piastri reflects on 2025 setback as Melbourne support ‘up another level’

Oscar Piastri may not have become World Champion last year, but, looking back on his year as a whole, he sees marked progress.

Off the track, he has been able to make some adjustments in pursuit of a successful F1 2026 title tilt. On the track, testing has been vital in helping him figure out the tools he needs. Piastri revealed that the support which he has received back home in Melbourne “was up another level” as he returned during the off-season.

Oscar Piastri details 2025 lessons and Melbourne support boost

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Piastri led the 2025 Drivers’ Championship for much of the season. But, a dip in form on the lower-grip circuits, coincided with a Lando Norris and Max Verstappen resurgence.

The end result was Piastri’s McLaren teammate Norris becoming World Champion, with Piastri unable to improve on third with a late-season return to form.

Piastri returned home to Melbourne over the winter, and soon will head back there for the F1 2026 season-opener at Albert Park.

“It’s going to be a busy season once again, and obviously, opening in Melbourne is great. Very busy, though,” Piastri told 7News.

“It’s nice to be going into the new season starting from home. The level of support in Melbourne has always been fantastic. But the last time I went home over Christmas, not long ago, the support was up another level.

“So I’m looking forward to going back home and racing.”

Expanding further on the boost in support which he has experienced, Piastri added: “A few more people knew who I was.

“And I think for me, the biggest thing was just how many people said, well done, or just kind of acknowledged me in the street or wherever I was, was very cool.

“Even though the result of 2025 wasn’t exactly what I wanted, the support was fantastic all the way through. It was nothing but positivity, which was great.”

2025 was a story of highs and lows for Piastri. He led the Drivers’ Championship by 34 points at one stage, but was made to pay for his six-race run without a podium.

It can be easy to forget that Piastri was only in his third F1 season when that strong whiff of a title arrived.

Piastri was asked how he has dealt with what played out in 2025.

“I mean, just trying to look at it like that, acknowledge the good moments and the bad,” he said. “I think every single season is going to have its ups and downs, and that was certainly the case last year.

“But I think compared to the first couple of years of my F1 career, there were significantly more ups, which was great, and plenty of lessons learned in some of those tougher moments and tougher weekends.

“So I think for me, just acknowledging the year as a whole, I think it was a really good step forward from 2024, with still some things to work on, some things to improve. So that’s how I try and look at it.

“You always learn more in the tougher moments or the bad moments. I think I definitely learned some lessons and things I can take forward into 2026 through that, but also, proved to myself more than anything, that when I get everything together and kind of maximise my potential, that it’s good enough to win races.”

Piastri was asked whether he has identified the tools which he needs to take the next step, and become World Champion in 2026.

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The transition from last season to this has not been simple for any driver, with new chassis and engine regulations having changed the game.

Energy management is a topic which has been heavily debated among the drivers. The increase in electrical power from the engine means managing the batteries will be a key part of F1 2026 competition.

“Still figuring out, I think,” Piastri admitted on the driving side.

“In terms of the lessons from last year, yes. I think they’re not necessarily things that are always in the car, so to speak, or they’re not necessarily attached to driving specifically, they’re just a bit broader in terms of the topics.

“But in terms of the driving, figuring out the tools I need to drive as fast as I can, that’s what testing is so critical for this year. Learning again.

“From previous years, it was kind of all the cars, year to year, needed the same driving style, needed the same things, more or less, with some subtle tweaks. Whereas this year, we’re getting to know what the car likes, what it doesn’t like, what the power unit likes, what it doesn’t like. So there’s much more kind of experimentation and exploration on that side of things.

“So yeah, that’s kind of developing the tools. But I think some of the ones more off track, and just how I approach the weekends, how I approach the season, there’s definitely some lessons from last year that I can take into 2026.”

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