Analysis: How Mostert has gone to another level at WAU

OPINION: Chaz Mostert was a standout performer at Tickford Racing between 2014 and 2019, but he has gone to a new level at Walkinshaw Andretti United.

Chaz Mostert is entering his sixth season with Walkinshaw Andretti United, which is the same number of campaigns he completed with Tickford Racing.

At the end of 2019, Mostert's deal with WAU proved a huge silly season story; some questioned if it was the right move, while others believed he could one day challenge for a title with the storied team.

Mostert's time with WAU has flown by, but he has shown no signs of slowing down, putting together arguably his most complete season yet to fight for the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship.

He heads into 2025 as one of the championship favourites, something he often was at Tickford, yet never seemed to put it together across a whole season.

So, just how much better has Mostert been at WAU versus Tickford? Supercars.com breaks it down.

Where he has improved

Mostert had teammates at Tickford of the ilk of Mark Winterbottom, David Reynolds, Cam Waters, Jason Bright, Richie Stanaway and Lee Holdsworth. In the final years of his Tickford stint, he largely went head-to-head with Winterbottom and Waters, each trying to stamp their authority on the team.

Conversely, Mostert has had more responsibility on his shoulders at WAU, partnering rookie teammates in Bryce Fullwood (2020-21) and Ryan Wood (2024-present), with Nick Percat (2022-23) unable to extract meaningful results.

Mostert's average championship finish at Tickford across six seasons was 6.8, with a best of fifth in 2017 and 2019. He matched that in his first season with WAU, despite going winless, before reeling off finishes of third, third, fourth and third. His average at WAU plummets to 3.6, some 3.2 positions better than Tickford.

Obviously, the biggest gain has been race performance. Mostert won 13 times in 204 starts at Tickford, at a strike rate of a win every 15.7 races. At WAU, he has 11 wins in 144 starts, at 13.1.

He has just four fewer top five race finishes in his WAU stint, despite starting 60 fewer races. He claimed a top five finish once in every 2.5 starts at Tickford, with that number dropping to 1.9 at WAU.

Mostert also claimed 53 podiums in 204 Tickford starts, and has 45 with WAU in 60 fewer starts. Should Mostert claim nine or more podiums this season, and three or more wins, the stats will largely be in favour of his WAU stint.

All told, at WAU, his average race finish (6.8), average championship (3.6), win rate (13.1), podium rate (3.2) and top five rate (1.9) are all better than his overall career averages.

What he did better at Tickford

WAU has managed to make Mostert a force in the races, but he has only claimed five pole positions in five seasons with the team.

A younger, more raw Mostert was superb in qualifying at Tickford, claiming 20 pole positions. He claimed a pole once every 10.2 races, headlined by 10 poles in 2015, which was an impressive number given he missed the final four rounds due to injury after his Bathurst crash.

Poles have been much harder to come by at WAU; he did snag one at The Bend in 2020, while he put together a record-breaking effort at Mount Panorama in 2021, a day before he won the race.

However, that Bathurst pole came before two seasons without a pole, before Mostert scored two more in 2024.

What it means for 2025

Mostert excelled with new engineer Sam Scaffidi last season, claiming 11 podiums and three wins, and putting pressure on the runaway Triple Eight Race Engineering duo.

Mostert's achievements under Adam De Borre cannot be understated, given they worked together for a decade, winning Bathurst in 2014 and 2021.

The mission for WAU in 2025 is to not only build from last season's race speed, but get the #25 Mobil 1 Optus Ford starting from the front row more often. If they can do that, Mostert could be hard to stop. Crucially, Mostert and Scaffidi are on the right path, with the driver turning in his best qualifying performance over a season since 2017.

What's more, is that Wood is expected to take another step forward in his second season, which could push Mostert further to remain top dog at WAU.

By the end of 2025, Mostert could well have pushed his career metrics to greater heights at WAU, and should he deliver on his goal to win a championship, it would more than justify the big move he took at the end of 2019.

Tickets for the season-opening round in Sydney, on February 21-23, are on sale now.

Chaz Mostert: Tickford Racing and WAU stints compared