"Thought that was his cousin driving": Romain Grosjean baffled by Oscar Piastri's downfall against Lando Norris

Romain Grosjean has stated that he struggled to understand Oscar Piastri’s dramatic swing in form during the second half of the 2025 F1 season. The former F1 driver reflected on the Australian’s title challenge, which faded after a strong first half of the season despite McLaren’s championship-winning campaign.

Piastri won five of the first nine races in the season and held a commanding lead in the title fight. By the summer break, he was more than 100 points ahead of Max Verstappen in third and 35 points more than Lando Norris, as McLaren established itself as the fastest car on the grid.

However, from Zandvoort onwards, Piastri failed to reach the podium in the next six races and then suffered a disqualification at Las Vegas, further decreasing the gap. It allowed Norris and Verstappen to claw back ground, changing the championship picture.

Speaking in an interview with Sport.de, Grosjean summed up Piastri's sudden drop in performance.

“Oscar Piastri is a little bit the one that I can’t put my head around this year. So strong up to the summer and then past Monza, four or five races, I felt it was his cousin driving. Then came Qatar and we saw again Oscar, the fastest man on track... They didn’t win the race, but it didn’t really matter that weekend. It was like Oscar was back. He was strong in Abu Dhabi, but by at that point he had lost too much ground.”

Oscar Piastri’s Qatar weekend was a contrast. He topped FP1, took Sprint qualifying pole, and won the Sprint race. He also claimed pole position for the grand prix but finished second in the main race. He entered the Abu Dhabi finale with 392 points, trailing Verstappen, who had 396, and Norris with 408.

Despite a P2 in Abu Dhabi GP, Piastri ended the year third overall with 410 points. Romain Grosjean, meanwhile, continues to compete in the IMSA SportsCar Championship with Lamborghini and serves as a reserve driver for Prema in IndyCar.

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Romain Grosjean believes Oscar Piastri “will be world champion one day”

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri of McLaren during the FIA Awards 2025. Source: Getty

Romain Grosjean also pointed to factors behind Oscar Piastri’s uneven season. The McLaren driver appeared less comfortable on low-grip circuits but was consistently strong at high-grip venues, particularly in the Middle East. At just 24 years old and in only his third full F1 season, Piastri was already fighting for a title earlier than many expected, with nine career wins in just 70 starts.

Speaking in his interview, Grosjean added:

“I don’t know Oscar very well. I really like him as a person and as a driver. My guess is that he’s pretty disappointed with the season. When you have a 34-point buffer at the summer break and you end up a bit more than 10 points behind, it’s not what you look for. “He’ll probably learn a lot. He’s still very young and has very few seasons in Formula One. He’s shown a lot of great things, and he’s also shown that four or five races he was just not where he wanted to be. If he does what he did well again and sorts those issues out... he definitively will be world champion one day.”

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has echoed similar confidence internally, viewing Oscar Piastri as a future title winner. A fresh opportunity could emerge as soon as 2026, although the incoming regulations mean McLaren’s next car may not enjoy the same advantage it held through much of 2025.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam