P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Oscar Piastri leads the F1 drivers’ standings at the halfway mark of the 2025 season – and will want to avoid joining an unwanted club.
With 12 races completed and 12 left in the 2025 F1 season, Oscar Piastri is currently leading the drivers’ championship standings.
His victory in Bahrain placed him in a lead he has maintained, becoming the first Australian since Mark Webber in 2010 to head the drivers’ standings.
With half of the season yet to unfold, Piastri holds an eight-point advantage over his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, in the race to secure McLaren’s first drivers’ championship since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
Statistically, the odds seem to be in Piastri’s favor as the driver leading at the season’s halfway point has gone on to claim the championship title in 56 out of the 75 previous championships.
Hamilton shares the record for leading at halfway and not winning the title with Alain Prost, with notable examples including Hamilton’s 2007 rookie season, and Prost’s chances in 1983, 1984, 1988, and 1990 slipping away.
Among the champions who also missed converting their halfway leads into titles are Jim Clark, Niki Lauda, Fernando Alonso, Nico Rosberg, and Sebastian Vettel.
Interestingly, in 1997, Michael Schumacher’s lead at the halfway mark was nullified after his disqualification for attempting to take out Jacques Villeneuve in the title-deciding race.
To delve deeper into the standings, be sure to check out the full table for more information.
