Apr.29 (GMM) A long-serving former Formula 1 manager and team boss is tipping Oscar Piastri to hang onto his new championship lead until the very end of 2025.
Germany’s Sport1 asked Franz Tost, the ex-boss at Racing Bulls whose F1 career dates back to his days supporting Ralf Schumacher at Williams, to name his dream picks for a hypothetical Tost F1 team.
“I would always choose Max (Verstappen),” he said. “But of the others, Oscar Piastri.”
In just his third F1 season, the cool, calm Piastri, 24, took over the championship lead from his McLaren teammate Lando Norris at Jeddah – although many see the arguably mentally weaker Norris as still having the pace edge.
As for whether Verstappen can catch them both to win a fifth consecutive world championship this year, Tost said: “Red Bull is bringing out a major update in Imola to significantly improve the car.
“Let’s hope it works for them.”
But if it doesn’t work out, McLaren will be left with the awkward task of handling a Piastri-Norris battle for Formula 1’s biggest prize.
“Fundamentally, McLaren has a luxury problem,” said 69-year-old Tost, who retired at the end of 2023. “They have the best car, two very good drivers, and their sole goal is to win the constructors’ championship.
“Therefore, they will pit the two drivers against each other up to a certain point. And I think Piastri will prevail,” the Austrian declared.
“He has tremendous basic speed, just like Norris, but is mentally much stronger than Norris. Therefore, Piastri has a huge chance of winning the championship this year.”
Tost said he is also keeping an eye on another fascinating battle of the teammates in 2025 – Ferrari newcomer Lewis Hamilton, 40, against his much younger but firmly established teammate Charles Leclerc.
“He needs to become more consistent,” said Tost, referring to 27-year-old Leclerc. “Another thing is certain – if he wants to win races and the world championship, he has to beat Hamilton.
“Because, without disparaging Hamilton, Leclerc knows the team, and the age difference is also to his advantage. If Hamilton wins the duel, Leclerc will have lost some of his prestige. The same applies to Norris if he loses to Piastri at McLaren.”
Hamilton is currently struggling to adapt to a Ferrari after years with Mercedes, but Tost sees most of the pressure on Leclerc’s shoulders.
When asked if Hamilton can get away with losing against his teammate, Tost said: “You can never lose! But there’s the very important age difference. That’s why Leclerc has to win.”
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