McLaren JUST DROPPED a HUGE BOMBSHELL on Piastri Ahead of Brazil GP: Is the Title Slipping from His Grasp?

McLaren has unleashed a brutal reality check on Oscar Piastri just days before the 2025 São Paulo Grand Prix on November 7, with CEO Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella publicly doubling down on their “equal treatment” policy while legends Jacques Villeneuve and Guenther Steiner savage the Australian’s mid-season slump as “complacency” and “lost mojo,” leaving the 24-year-old—who led the drivers’ championship for 15 straight rounds with a 34-point cushion over Lando Norris—now trailing his teammate by one point and fighting psychological demons as Max Verstappen lurks 36 back with four races and 103 points remaining.

The papaya squad’s refusal to anoint a No. 1 driver, once hailed as noble fairness, is now branded a “title-killing mistake” by Steiner on Sky Sports F1, who declared after Mexico: “Oscar’s struggling—he doesn’t get the support to win; you lose your mojo,” while Villeneuve dissected onboard data showing Piastri “driving tight, not relaxed,” warning that early dominance bred comfort that’s now costing tenths. As X explodes under #PiastriCrisis (1.8 million mentions) with 61% of fans per PlanetF1 polls demanding McLaren “pick Norris now,” the Woking garage faces a nightmare: a championship-contending MCL39 but a golden boy suddenly second-guessing every corner, turning Brazil’s Interlagos sprint into a make-or-break crucible where one bad weekend could bury Piastri’s dream.

The collapse began post-Dutch GP, where Piastri’s 104-point lead over Verstappen seemed unassailable. Seven wins, pole-to-flag clinics in Monaco and Silverstone—McLaren’s “big four” targets ticked off, per Brown—painted him as the heir apparent. Then Singapore cracked the facade: P4 to Norris’ P1. Austin worsened it: P5 to Norris’ P2. Mexico sealed the reversal: Piastri qualified P7, finished P5, admitting post-race: “I stared at the back of cars—tried everything, but couldn’t read if changes worked.” Norris, by contrast, stormed to victory—his eighth—leading 68 of 71 laps with the joy Piastri once owned. “Lando’s peaking; Oscar’s guessing,” Villeneuve summed up. “When you only fight your teammate, you don’t push the last tenth—then suddenly you’re slower and slower.”

McLaren’s response? Stonewall equality. “We don’t pay attention to external noise—both drivers race freely,” Brown told Autosport ahead of Brazil, insisting the policy that powered their Constructors’ lead (147 over Ferrari) remains sacred. Stella echoed: “Constant evolution—if you relax, surprises hit hard.” Yet the data screams imbalance: Norris has outqualified Piastri 5-1 since Singapore, outscored him 85-42 in the last six rounds, and seized the lead for the first time since Round 4. Steiner’s verdict was merciless: “Equal terms sound fair, but when one’s flying and the other’s lost, you back the winner—McLaren’s hurting Oscar.”

Piastri’s own words betray the turmoil. “We tried a lot of different things,” he sighed in Mexico, a far cry from the clinical assassin who dominated Bahrain and Australia. Onboard telemetry reveals the shift: “notchy” steering inputs, over-rotation in mid-corner, braking 0.2 seconds earlier than Norris in Sector 2. Villeneuve: “He’s stressed—driving tight, not smooth. That kills balance.” The psychological toll is brutal: early freedom bred confidence; now, every tenth is a referendum on his championship worthiness.

Brazil looms as judgment day. Interlagos’ sprint format offers 34 points; a wet-dry roulette favors the bold. Norris thrives in chaos—Mexico’s masterclass proved it. Verstappen, P3 in Mexico, smells blood: “McLaren’s fight? Our gain.” Piastri must rediscover the “calm, clean” style that won him seven races, or risk becoming the nearly-man of 2025. McLaren insists no favoritism—“data-driven, not driver-driven”—but whispers of faster Norris pit stops (0.3s quicker in Mexico) and priority upgrades fuel conspiracy. Stella: “No reason one track favors one driver.” Yet history disagrees: equal policies cracked Ferrari in 2007, Red Bull in 2010.

This isn’t just a slump—it’s a defining test. Piastri, once untouchable, now battles doubt, a surging teammate, and a team too principled to pick sides. Four races—Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar, Abu Dhabi—103 points. Norris leads by one. Verstappen trails by 36. McLaren’s “equal chances” mantra was noble in April; in November, it’s a tightrope. As Steiner warned: “Not good enough becomes fact.” Piastri must silence the noise, reclaim his flow, or watch the title he once owned slip through his fingers in the Brazilian rain.