Look, there's something about losing when you've led the way that gets under your skin in a different way.Oscar Piastri recorded the same number of wins as Norris with seven, and held a 34-point lead at one stage, but a run of six Grands Prix without a podium in the final part of the season ultimately contributed to him missing out on a maiden title. Coming home to Melbourne after that Abu Dhabi Grand Prix wasn't going to magically fix it, either.
Norris' season was a rollercoaster worthy of the type of Hollywood blockbuster F1 helped to make earlier this year, featuring personal struggles, a tense and, at times, difficult to understand dynamic at McLaren, as well as a Verstappen resurgence of legendary proportions. For Piastri, those conversations with himself had to happen. The good news? He didn't try to run from them.
Part of that reflection meant having some honest chats with McLaren.Piastri acknowledged there were occasional imperfect decisions, but stressed there was never been any bad intention, saying the important part is there's been a lot of learning about things they can do differently and better. That's the kind of mature reckoning you don't always see from young drivers with everything on the line.
Here's the thing about Piastri though. He's got this way about him that sits somewhere between unflappable composure and genuine warmth.When meeting Kruz Seumanutafa at the 2025 Melbourne Grand Prix, Piastri learnt about the incredible role that My Room plays for families dealing with childhood cancer, and since then has developed an understanding of the work the charity provides during difficult times, feeling it a natural progression to become involved as an ambassador.
The McLaren driver donated a race-worn helmet from last season, which was auctioned to raise funds for the charity. That's not the move of someone dwelling on what he lost. That's someone channelling energy somewhere it actually matters.
For a bloke from Oakleigh who fell in love with racing at a go-kart track, it's how you'd hope he'd turn things round. Fair dinkum, that matters more than any trophy. It took a lost championship to show just how much character the kid's really got.
My Room Children's Cancer Charity supports families dealing with childhood cancer across Australia.