F1 isn't a fair sport: Piastri advised by cult hero

High praise for Oscar Piastri from honorary Aussie Valtteri Bottas who weighed in on the McLaren star's second-half slump in 2025.

Piastri, who led the F1 title race by 34 points at the start of September, finished the season third behind teammate Lando Norris and Max Verstappen after a collapse in form through October and November.

Disaster in Baku together with the controversial position swap at Monza and double disqualification in Las Vegas contributed to the collapse which ultimately cost him the championship. Asked what advice he would offer the Aussie going into a much hyped 2026, Bottas said the best thing he could say is that life is unfair and so too is sport.

"It’s hard to say when you’re not inside, when you’re not with the team and what’s going on internally," Bottas, who is set for an F1 return with Cadillac this season, said.

“All I know is that sometimes this sport’s not fair, and that’s what it is. I think Oscar had a great season, but his first half was definitely better than his second half."

"He’s still only had a few years in this sport, so it’s amazing that he’s already doing so well. “He’s got a great future ahead of him, many opportunities ahead of him, so, if he had himself a bit of a dip, I’m sure he’s learned from it."

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,” Piastri told Channel 9 earlier this month.

“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."