Why Piastri’s 2025 title fight feels hauntingly familiar

It’s starting to feel like deja vu — and not the good kind.

An Australian driver leading the Formula 1 world championship late in the year, only to watch that advantage vanish after a costly crash. A rising tension inside his team. A teammate gathering momentum at the worst possible moment.

Fifteen years ago, it was Mark Webber. Now, it’s Oscar Piastri.

In 2010, Webber looked destined to become Australia’s first F1 world champion since Alan Jones. With five rounds to go, he led the standings. With three rounds left, he was still in control.

Then came Korea — and everything unravelled.

Running second in treacherous wet conditions, Webber lost the car on lap 19 and slammed into the wall. Fernando Alonso took the win and the championship lead, and Webber never recovered.

By the time Abu Dhabi rolled around, Sebastian Vettel — the teammate Red Bull was accused of favouring all season — came from nowhere to snatch the title.

Fast forward to 2025, and Piastri’s story is echoing that same uneasy rhythm as his manager’s.

Like Webber, Piastri led the championship with five rounds to go. Like Webber, he’d been the benchmark for most of the season — in fact, he’d held the lead since Bahrain, a run of fifteen rounds at the top. And like Webber, his campaign hit turbulence just when the title looked within reach.

For Webber, it was Korea. For Piastri, it was Baku — a first-lap crash two rounds after his biggest lead of the year, 34 points clear of Lando Norris after the Dutch Grand Prix. Since then, the gap has steadily evaporated. After Mexico, Norris leads by a single point.

There’s more symmetry than either driver would like.

In 2010, Red Bull insisted both sides of the garage were equal. But the whispers were constant — the team favoured Vettel. Strategy calls, new parts, and accusations of favouritism after their collision in Turkey all grew from that perception of imbalance.

McLaren insist on “fair papaya rules” — equal treatment, no team orders. But the optics often suggest otherwise. Racing rules that seem to favour Norris, radio calls that go against the Aussie — it’s hard not to feel like history is repeating itself.

Still, Piastri’s situation isn’t as dire as Webber’s became.

When Webber left Korea, Alonso was ahead by 11 points with only two races left. There were no sprint races, no alternate scoring systems — and no margin for error. Piastri, by contrast, trails by just one point with four rounds remaining, plus two sprints still to come.

He’s got time. And he’s got form.

While Webber never regained his footing after that crash, Piastri has shown an ability to bounce back before. Every setback this season — from Melbourne’s late spin heartbreak to Canada’s clash with Norris — has been met with a clinical response. His calm under pressure has been one of his defining traits.

And then there’s the wild card.

In 2010, Vettel was the outsider — 15 points behind with two races left, yet the one who ultimately lifted the trophy.

This season, Max Verstappen sits 35 points off the lead with four rounds to go, waiting for chaos to do its part. It’s another eerie parallel — one that should remind both McLaren drivers that nothing is settled until the final flag.

So yes, there’s a ghost of 2010 haunting Piastri’s 2025 campaign. The young Australian is fighting his own version of Webber’s story — the internal tension, the rival across the garage, the fine margins that can turn glory into regret.

But unlike Webber, Piastri still holds the cards. The math is on his side, the car remains the class of the field, and his composure hasn’t cracked.

History might be repeating — but the ending isn’t written yet.