Formula 1: Former Haas team boss Guenther Steiner backs Australian Oscar Piastri to claim driver’s crown
Former Formula One team boss Guenther Steiner says if he had to put money on who wins the 2025 driver’s championship, he would choose Australia’s Oscar Piastri.
The Aussie was almost perfect in China, finishing second in the Sprint race and comfortably leading the Grand Prix from start to finish after claiming pole in qualifying to avenge an unlucky ninth-placed finish in his home race.
It comes amid many pundits selecting his McLaren teammate and rival Lando Norris to claim the driver’s crown and dethrone four-time champion Max Verstappen.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.However, Steiner, who helmed American outfit Haas for seven seasons from their inception in 2016, believes Piastri showed in China he has the edge over the Brit.
“I think Oscar, at the moment, has got the edge (on Norris). In China, in my opinion, he showed that he has got the edge,” Steiner told the Red Flags Podcast.
“All the time, he was better (in China), I would say. If I had to put money now on the world champion, I would put it on Oscar Piastri.
“When you saw him speaking after the pole position in qualifying in the interview, he seemed to be pretty happy.
“You could really see he’s enjoying it and I think he wants more of it because he enjoyed that quite a bit. I think he is in a good position now.”
The Italian added McLaren was likely to be runaway champions in the Constructor’s race but warned they would still need to be nothing short of perfect to maintain their grip.
“I wouldn’t say that nobody can compete with McLaren anymore,” he said.
“It’s not as easy as it looks because you saw it in the sprint (in China) – if they don’t do it perfectly, they lose.
“McLaren can’t make any mistakes because there’s always someone ready to beat them.
“But if they do it perfectly, I think they’re definitely the team to beat. And yes, they were way ahead of the rest, but we’re not talking about a whole lap or something like that. Mercedes, for example, also has good speed.”
Formula One returns on Friday in Japan.
