A month before Formula 1 hit the track for the first time in 2025, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri already held a quiet kind of confidence: “I can become World Champion this year,” the Australian driver stated bluntly in February.

Four-times champion Max Verstappen was runner-up, 2.843 seconds behind Piastri, after starting from pole at Jeddah's Corniche circuit but collecting a five-second penalty for a first corner clash with Piastri.

McLaren look to have their Formula 1 driver line-up locked in for many years with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri excelling, but they have even younger stars on the books