Oscar Piastri has been backed to adopt a tactic once used by Lewis Hamilton as he fights Lando Norris and Max Verstappen for the 2025 Formula 1 championship. The Australian kept himself in contention after a strong Qatar weekend, where he dominated the Sprint and claimed pole for the Grand Prix. However, a McLaren strategy miscalculation allowed Verstappen to snatch victory, leaving Piastri to settle for second while Norris ended up fourth.
Heading into the season finale at Abu Dhabi, Piastri sits 16 points behind Norris and four behind Verstappen. To clinch his first title, he must win the race and hope Norris finishes sixth or worse. Should Piastri come home second, he would need Norris to end up tenth or lower and Verstappen to finish no better than fourth. With all three drivers mathematically in the hunt, the championship decider promises to be tense.
Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft suggested Piastri could turn to a Hamilton-style approach reminiscent of the 2016 showdown between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Croft predicted that if Piastri takes the lead, he might deliberately slow his pace to push Norris back into the chasing pack—an entirely legal tactic that could elevate his title hopes. Still, Croft believes Norris will ultimately leave Abu Dhabi as world champion, even if Piastri wins the race.
The comparison draws from the infamous 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Hamilton—leading the race—backed Rosberg into the field in a final attempt to overturn the points gap. Despite Hamilton’s efforts, Rosberg held onto second place and secured the championship by five points. At the time, Hamilton defended the maneuver as strategic rather than dangerous, arguing that controlling the pace was within his rights as the race leader.
Rosberg later acknowledged that both sides of the dispute were understandable: Hamilton was fighting for the title, while Mercedes were focused on securing a safe team result. As Piastri prepares for his own championship showdown, the echoes of that 2016 duel loom large, creating intrigue around what strategies may unfold in the final race of the season.
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