The Azerbaijan Grand Prix should have been the weekend McLaren sealed its absolute authority over Formula 1. Instead, it became the stage for one of the most shocking collapses of Oscar Piastri’s career. A jump start, a malfunctioning anti-stall system, and two devastating crashes—one in qualifying and one on the first lap of the race—shattered his incredible streak of consistency and allowed Max Verstappen to claw his way back into the title fight. For a driver who has built his reputation on calm, surgical precision, this was a meltdown nobody saw coming.

But the story doesn’t end there. Inside McLaren, questions are mounting: Is the team truly united, or are we witnessing the first cracks in a rivalry that could split the garage in two? Mark Webber, Piastri’s manager and mentor, has gone public with a declaration that will only intensify the pressure, bluntly stating that Piastri must be the one to win the 2025 World Championship. This isn’t just about redemption in Singapore or the races ahead. This is about a battle of legacies: Norris versus Piastri, with Verstappen circling like a shark. And if you want to understand why this could reshape the entire championship, keep reading, because what’s unfolding inside McLaren is far bigger than just one bad weekend.

Oscar Piastri’s disastrous Baku weekend isn’t just another racing mishap. It’s the kind of collapse that can alter the entire trajectory of a Formula 1 season. For months, Piastri had been the embodiment of composure, a young driver who seemed immune to the psychological warfare and relentless intensity of a championship fight. His 34-race streak of points finishes had become the symbol of his reliability, a run that cemented him as the man to beat in 2025.

But in Azerbaijan, all of that evaporated in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a trail of shattered carbon fiber, lost points, and dangerous new narratives about whether Piastri truly has the steel to carry McLaren’s championship hopes on his shoulders. It began on Saturday when Piastri made a rare but costly error in qualifying. Pushing hard in the final stages, he locked up and slid into the barriers at turn three. The crash left him stranded on the fifth row of the grid in ninth place, far from where a championship leader wants to be. But what made this moment stand out was not just the mistake itself. It was the fact that Piastri had made almost no unforced errors like this in his short but brilliant F1 career. It was an omen, a hint that this would not be a normal weekend.

Then came Sunday, and with it, disaster on multiple fronts. As the lights went out, Piastri jumped the start, triggering an automatic five-second penalty. But the real sting came a split second later when his McLaren dropped into anti-stall as he tried to recover, shoving him backward through the field before he even reached turn one. And then, on that very first lap, the nightmare was complete. Breaking late into turn five, Piastri locked up, slid helplessly on the dirty air, and smashed into the barriers. Just like that, his race was over. His first retirement since his rookie season, his first true implosion in Formula 1.

Piastri didn’t sugarcoat it afterward. He admitted his mistakes, calling it a “messy weekend” and taking full responsibility for the errors. “I judged it wrong. A stupid mistake, frustrating of course, but we’re all human,” he told the press. It was refreshingly honest, but it doesn’t change the cold reality: when you’re leading the world championship, one bad weekend can carry consequences that ripple far beyond the checkered flag. Because this wasn’t just about one driver losing his cool; it reshaped the entire championship fight. Max Verstappen, previously trailing at a safe distance, suddenly had the door thrown wide open. His back-to-back victories have dragged him back into the conversation, closing the gap to just 69 points. And while on paper that still looks like a mountain to climb, anyone who’s watched F1 knows better than to count him out. This is a man who thrives when others falter, and Baku has given him exactly what he needed: blood in the water.

Meanwhile, for Lando Norris, the picture is more complicated. The Brit had his own underwhelming weekend, only managing seventh place, meaning he failed to inflict maximum damage on his teammate’s title hopes. But the broader narrative is clear: Norris and Piastri are locked in a duel for the 2025 crown, with Verstappen circling, waiting to exploit every slip-up. Inside McLaren, that duel is beginning to create an atmosphere of tension. Every mistake by one driver is ammunition for the other. Every missed opportunity is magnified. And as we’ve seen so many times in F1 history, from Senna versus Prost to Hamilton versus Rosberg, a team divided by its own success can be more vulnerable than any rival across the pit lane.

This is where Mark Webber enters the frame. The former Red Bull driver, now Piastri’s manager, has never been afraid to speak his mind, but his latest comments were nothing short of explosive. Webber declared in no uncertain terms that Oscar Piastri must win the championship this year. Not Lando Norris, not Max Verstappen. Oscar. Such a blunt statement is highly unusual in Formula 1, where political correctness and carefully crafted PR lines often dominate the conversation. Webber’s words are a gauntlet thrown down, and their implications cannot be ignored.

For Piastri, Webber’s backing is both a shield and a sword. On one hand, it’s a powerful vote of confidence from a mentor who knows exactly what it takes to survive the brutality of the paddock. On the other, it heaps a staggering amount of pressure onto the young Australian’s shoulders. Because now, in the eyes of the fans and the media, anything less than the championship will be seen as a failure. Not just for Piastri, but for Webber’s judgment as well.

For Norris, the situation is even more delicate. Imagine being McLaren’s longtime prodigy, the driver who carried the team through its rebuilding years, only to be told publicly that your teammate is the chosen one. Webber’s comments risk adding fuel to the fire of rivalry inside McLaren. And while Andrea Stella, the team principal, has worked hard to maintain balance and harmony, comments like these can erode even the strongest foundations. After all, Formula 1 is as much about psychology as it is about engineering. A single spark of division can ignite a full-blown civil war.

Stella, for his part, tried to downplay the situation. He called Baku a “one-off,” a rare mistake in an otherwise brilliant season for Piastri. He reminded the press that every driver, even the greats, has weekends where nothing goes right. And in many ways, Stella is correct. Champions are not defined by their perfection but by how they recover from imperfection. The question now is whether Piastri can bounce back immediately or whether Baku marks the beginning of a dangerous downward spiral.

Looking at the standings, the stakes couldn’t be clearer. With seven races and three sprint weekends left, a maximum of 199 points are on the table. Piastri leads with 324, Norris follows with 299, and Verstappen lurks at 255. Mathematically, Russell and Leclerc are still in play, but realistically, this is a three-horse race. The margin between Piastri and Norris is just 25 points—essentially the difference of a single race win. And with Verstappen’s relentless pace, the margin for error has vanished completely.

All eyes now turn to Singapore. A year ago, it was Norris who triumphed there, with Piastri finishing third. That race will be a crucible, a test of whether Piastri can shake off the ghosts of Baku and reassert his dominance. If he wins, the narrative will shift instantly, painting Baku as an isolated mistake. As things stand, Piastri is still the favorite. His speed, his intelligence, and his calm demeanor have carried him this far, and one bad weekend doesn’t erase that. So I’ll leave you with this: Is Oscar Piastri truly ready to handle the weight of expectation and prove Mark Webber right, or has Baku exposed the cracks that Max Verstappen and Lando Norris will use to destroy his title dream? Let me know in the comments below.