Piastri addresses claims of McLaren "sabotage" and unrest

“Papaya rules, team orders and preferential treatment” are words that will remain synonymous with Oscar Piastri’s 2025 Formula One season, but only for those on the outside, according to the Aussie superstar who has taken an incredibly mature approach to digesting the year that was.

Until early September Piastri had a strong lead in the title race with McLaren teammate Lando Norris seemingly his only threat.

Then it all started going wrong.

His 34-point lead started to slip and the season flipped on its head with Max Verstappen coming from the clouds to get himself into contention for the title.

Disaster for Piastri in Baku together with the controversial position swap at Monza and double disqualification in Las Vegas contributed to the collapse of his season.

Going into the season finale in Qatar, it was a three-driver battle for the title which ultimately ended with Norris as champion, Verstappen second and the Aussie third.

Internal “fallout” was widely reported and fans were left angry and frustrated with how they perceived McLaren had treated Piastri through the course of the season amid rumours of preferential treatment being given to his British counterpart.

But what did the 24-year-old make of it all?

"Obviously there were a few moments I'd rather have again – or rather not have – but I think on the whole, I'm very proud of what I was able to achieve,” he told Channel 9.

“There are plenty of lessons learned, both good and bad, to take into the future.

"It (the alleged internal issues) gets talked about a lot. Behind the scenes it's a much smaller discussion and a smaller deal than what it gets made out to be.

"But yeah, we've got our ways of going racing and it's constantly evolving. We'll do a review and we already have reviewed. Do we want to do things exactly the same? Do we want to change things a bit? We'll get a handle on that fully before we go racing again.

"For me, the intentions were always in the right place and we'll do some tweaking if we feel we need it, to try and make life a bit easier for ourselves."

Speculation is rife that Piastri’s manager and former F1 driver Mark Webber has been courting offers from other teams with both Ferrari and Mercedes considered options for 2027.

Whether his current contract is extended beyond 2026 or he does indeed seek opportunities elsewhere, Piastri is cool calm and collected about what this year will bring and how proud he is of what he has achieved so far.

Seven race wins and being in contention for the title eclipsed his dreams and only adds to his ambition.

"I think there are a lot of different ways you can take the 2025 season for me, but I think for me, I learned a lot about myself both on and off the track," he continued.

"I feel like I really developed quite a lot as a person. I feel more mature. I feel more responsible. I feel just like I know what I want a bit more now.

"Also just a sense of pride. Even though the end result wasn't exactly what I wanted, I think to have the amount of success that I had was something that I would have only dreamed of at the start of the year.

"I'm definitely not afraid to stand up for myself, which I definitely did. That's something I've grown into more through the last couple of years.

“As I get more experience as an F1 driver, as I get more experience as an adult, just being able to know exactly what I want and being able to have that confidence to stand up for myself, it's definitely something I've learned, but I wouldn't change anything that I did last year."