Piastri: This year has been full of a lot more good days

This is Piastri's third season in the top flight, and he is already fighting for his first F1 championship, with Norris being his only challenger, as Max Verstappen is now way behind in the standings.

Piastri previously highlighted that he needed to improve his qualifying performance, an area in which Norris still holds the edge, but the Australian gave a broader explanation of how his performance has evolved between 2024 and 2025.

Facing the media over the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, Piastri said of his performance: "[I’ve been] developing a little bit in a lot of areas.

"Last year, I felt like I had some weekends that were very strong and felt like I had enough to win races on my good days. But there were a lot of average and sometimes bad days in between.

“This year has been full of a lot more good days. I have improved as a driver, but I think I've been able to get closer to what I think I'm capable of more often.

“That's been the biggest thing," he claimed. "It's not come from one specific area. It's come from looking at lots of different things. Being able to execute what I think is my best more and more often—that's been the difference."

Piastri will now be recharging the batteries over the summer break as he gets ready to resume his fight with Norris at the Dutch Grand Prix, with his lead in the F1 Drivers' Championship now just nine points over his teammate.

"The way you win races at the back end of the season is the same way as at the start," the 24-year-old said when asked how he plans to tackle the final part of the season.

"You need to be faster than everyone around you, and you need to make the least mistakes possible," he stated. "That aspect doesn't really change.

"Like I said, it's great to be consistent, but if you're consistently being beaten, that's not a recipe for a championship. It's a balancing act of both.

“Obviously, if you're a robot, you'd be able to be as fast as possible and make zero mistakes, but we're all humans, so that's not possible.

“There is going to be an element of minimizing mistakes, but you need to be fast at the same time, and you can't afford to sit back. If you try to take that approach, you'll end up being beaten," Piastri concluded.

While Piastri still leads the Championship, Norris has been on a recent surge of form which means their fight will only intensify after the break. (Reporting by Agnes Carlier)