Oscar Piastri needs this one key trait to win his first F1 championship

With his level head and precise driving skills, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri has emerged as the F1 2025 title favorite as the season comes down to its closing grands prix. But is he the complete package?

According to former F1 driver turned pundit David Coulthard, there’s still one key trait that Piastri is missing, one that could put him at odds with the very nature of his team: Piastri needs to be more selfish.

Why Oscar Piastri needs to be ‘selfish’

McLaren Racing has made it clear that there are no favorites in its Formula 1 operation. The goal is not to back one particular driver for a shot at a title; rather, McLaren wants both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to feel free to race one another (respectfully) and pursue a drivers’ championship without interference from the higher-ups.

David Coulthard thinks Piastri should throw that caution to the wind.

“Racing drivers are selfish bastards,” Coulthard explained to Australian publication Code Sports.

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“They’ve got to Formula 1 because they have their elbows out and they’ve fought their way into that sport.”

Regarding the McLaren duo, he added that the two men “both want to win, and therefore there will be a point where, to be crude about it, they’ll go and say ‘bollocks to the team, I want this victory for myself.’

“You can’t stage manage who’s going to score the goal, whoever’s got the ball is going to take a crack.’’

Right now, the metaphorical ball is in Piastri’s hands. Despite having two challenging race weekends in Italy and Azerbaijan, the Australian still holds tight to his lead on the drivers’ championship standings, though that gap is shrinking.

That gap, though, could have been larger had Piastri taken Coulthard’s advice and been more of a selfish driver. At Monza, for example, a slow pit stop for Norris meant he emerged on track behind Piastri. The team requested Piastri move over to return track position to the driver who held it for a majority of the race; Piastri complied.

Of course, the points differential between finishing second and third in a grand prix is not overly massive. But in a close battle such as this, every point matters,

That being said, ignoring McLaren’s requests could result in frustration, argues former two-time champion Mika Hakkinen.

“You need to be selfish, you need to think about yourself, what is best for you,” he told Code.

“Sometimes in the working environment it doesn’t look so nice because he’s, of course, a young driver and you don’t have so much experience yet in Formula 1.

“But [Piastri] will only get better. He’s a very consistent driver, which is a powerful tool, and he’s a bloody quick driver.”

As the season comes ever closer to its conclusion in Abu Dhabi, the title battle between Norris and Piastri — and even potentially between the McLaren and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen — will require a shift in focus from the team to the driver. When that moment takes place remains to be seen.

Read next: How McLaren can secure the Constructors’ Championship at the Singapore GP