Piastri racing towards drivers' title crown – Marko

May 16 (GMM) By the end of the forthcoming triple-header, the 2025 world championship battle could be all but done and dusted.

That’s the view of Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko, with quadruple world champion Max Verstappen currently placed third in the standings behind the two McLaren drivers.

Verstappen admitted at Imola that McLaren’s eight-tenth per lap race pace advantage in Miami was “depressing” – particularly as Red Bull only has a minor car upgrade this weekend at Imola.

“The new wing regulations, which will come into effect in Barcelona, give us more hope that something will change,” Marko told Krone Zeitung newspaper.

“That race will be decisive.”

Mercedes’ George Russell agrees.

“There will be a big change there,” he told Sky Italia. “We cannot catch McLaren if they do not take a step back, if you understand what I mean. It’s very clear that they are the kings of the flexible front and rear wings.

“We will see in Spain if something changes in their performance. If it doesn’t, we will all have to worry and they will just continue to win,” Russell added.

At McLaren, championship leader Oscar Piastri appears to have taken the clear upper hand over his teammate Lando Norris, winning four of the last five grands prix.

“If Piastri wins the next three races, that will definitely be a preliminary decision in the championship,” Marko admitted.

“We are currently 32 points behind the leaders with Max, which is quite a lot.”

The Austrian says he has been particularly impressed with Australian Piastri so far in 2025. “Piastri has learned incredibly quickly,” he said.

“You could see that in Miami in the duel with Max. Piastri prepares well and is tough in the decisive moments, while Norris is more of a trial-and-error player and doesn’t display the same level of consistency.”