Max Verstappen has spoken on his admiration for new F1 world championship leader Oscar Piastri and praised his “very calm” approach.

McLaren’s Piastri sits at the summit of the Drivers’ Championship standings for the first time heading into this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix after winning back-to-back races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Verstappen finished second to Piastri at the last race in Jeddah after being penalised in their tussle at the race’s first corner and is 12 points behind the in-from Australian in the nascent 2025 standings, with Lando Norris between them in the other McLaren.

“People forget a little bit – last year was his second year,” said Verstappen of the 24-year-old Piastri, who has now won five of the last 17 grands prix.

“Now he’s in his third year, and he’s very solid.

“He’s very calm in his approach, and I like that. It shows on track.

“He delivers when he has to, barely makes mistakes – and that’s what you need when you want to fight for a championship.”

Verstappen also credited Piastri’s manager, former Red Bull driver Mark Webber, for his role in aiding the driver’s development.

“I think with Mark by his side, he’s helping him a lot. It’s great,” added Verstappen.

“People learn from their own careers – that’s what I had with my dad, and Mark is advising Oscar.

“At the end of the day, Oscar is using his talent, and that’s great to see.”

Can Verstappen be a threat to McLaren again in Miami?

Although pre-favourites McLaren have remained the team to beat since testing in Bahrain in late February, Verstappen has managed to keep in touch with Piastri and Norris at the top of the standings across the opening five rounds.

That is in spite of Red Bull’s car fluctuating in form from track to track so far, as illustrated starkly by Verstappen’s results across the recent Japan-Bahrain-Saudi Arabia triple header.

The Dutchman produced a virtuoso lap to beat the McLarens to a crucial pole position at Suzuka, which allowed him to control the race from the front and win around a circuit that is hard to overtake on. A week later, however, and Bahrain saw Red Bull struggle badly for tyre degradation as Verstappen finished 34 seconds behind victor Piastri in sixth.

But he was then back on the pace at the fast Jeddah street circuit, delivering a stunning pole again before collecting a five-second penalty for cutting the first chicane in battle with Piastri at the start which ultimately saw him drop behind the Australian once he had served it in the pits.

“I think we need to find more overall performance, balance especially, and of course consistency,” said Verstappen.

“We are not good at every track. That’s quite clear.

“Bahrain, we were lacking a lot. [Saudi Arabia], for sure, it was a lot better. But like I said, it’s also very low deg and then more cars come alive. So we still have work to do, but at least [Jeddah was] a promising result.”

Formula 1 heads to Miami for a Sprint weekend this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime