What does Oscar Piastri need to win the 2025 F1 world championship in Abu Dhabi?

Piastri, who led the championship for most of the season, trails Lando Norris by 16 points heading into the finale

Oscar Piastri qualified third on the grid for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is 16 points behind Lando Norris as this thrilling F1 title race goes down to the decider.

Piastri looked comfortable in the lead in Qatar last week before an early crash triggered a safety car, with all but three cars diving into the pits on lap seven. Surprisingly, McLaren left out both Piastri and second-placed Norris.

Losing the chance to make a “free” pit-stop, Piastri was then playing catch-up and although he closed in on eventual race winner Max Verstappen at the end, he could not catch the Red Bull driver and had to settle for second. On team radio immediately afterwards, the Australian said he was “speechless.”

Oscar Piastri is 16 points behind (PA Wire)

While Piastri did make up points on Norris - who finished fourth - it means the Australian drops to third in the championship standings, and falls four points behind Verstappen. Just eight races ago, Piastri had a 104-point advantage over the Dutchman.

However, trailing Norris by 16 points, Piastri still has a fighting chance of claiming his first title in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

So what does Piastri need to win the title?

It now goes down to Abu Dhabi.

TOP-3 - F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

1. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 408 points

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 396 points

3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 392 points

Norris has a 12-point lead over Verstappen, who is now in second place. Piastri is a further four points back, 16 off his teammate.

It is a normal race weekend in Abu Dhabi. Therefore, Norris will win the world championship if he finishes on the podium at the Yas Marina Circuit. A minimum third place (15 points) in Abu Dhabi would give Norris an unassailable 27-point lead.

Piastri has a difficult task now. Put simply: he needs to score 17 more points than Norris and five more points than Verstappen to guarantee the title. At a minimum, he must finish in second place or higher to have a chance.

What could this look like in reality? If Piastri wins the grand prix, Norris would have to finish in sixth place or lower and Verstappen in second place or lower.

If Piastri finishes second, he’d need Norris to finish ninth or lower and Verstappen to finish fourth or lower. If Piastri finishes third or lower, he will not win the championship.

As for Verstappen’s chances, fourth place (12 points) for Norris would give the Brit a 24-point lead and, thus, if Verstappen then won the race, the Dutchman would take the title by one point.

Alternatively, Verstappen simply needs to score 13 more points than Norris.

Twelve more points would put them level but, unless Verstappen won (in which case he’d win the title anyway if Norris finished off the podium) they would both be tied on countback on seven wins each. It then goes to second-place finishes, where Norris has the advantage with eight compared to Verstappen’s five. Piastri only has four second-place finishes.

If they’re all level on points, it goes to countback. As it stands, all three drivers have won seven races, but Norris has eight second-place finishes, compared to five for Verstappen and four for Piastri.

Norris leads Verstappen by 12 points and Piastri by 16 points (Getty)