Fading Oscar Piastri faces big test in Brazil Grand Prix

What’s happened to Oscar Piastri? That’s the question Formula 1 fans are asking after the McLaren driver’s poor run of form in recent Grands Prix.

After dominating pre-race wagering over the middle part of the 2025 season, Piastri has fallen down the betting boards – below teammate Lando Norris and reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

Norris and Verstappen are 2.50 joint favourites to win this weekend’s Brazil Grand Prix in Sao Paulo. Piastri has drifted out to 5.60.

With four rounds of the 2025 season to go, Norris has tightened to 1.72 for the championship – followed by Piastri at 3.75, Verstappen at 4.50 and George Russell at 1,000.00.

Piastri looked like cruising to his first drivers’ championship when he won the Dutch Grand Prix in late August – his seventh victory of the opening 15 rounds – and moved 34 points clear of Norris.

Since then, though, the Australian has flopped, with a few uncharacteristic crashes not helping. Three victories for Verstappen and one for Norris have seen the picture change dramatically.

Norris now leads Piastri by one point and Verstappen has crept to within 35 of him.

Verstappen’s surge in form has had a lot to do with his Red Bull team’s continual upgrading of their car – even after McLaren claimed the constructor championship earlier in the season.

Red Bull claim to have more technical innovation “up the sleeve” in the closing rounds of the season – which will not improve Piastri’s state of nerves.

The show in Brazil gets underway on Friday with Practice 1 at 4.30 SA time. Sprint Qualifying is later that evening and the Sprint itself on Saturday at 4pm.

Qualifying for the main race starts at 8pm on Saturday. The GP red lights go out at 7pm SA time on Sunday.

All odds correct at time of writing and subject to change.