Oscar Piastri has caused a social media storm hinting at his true feelings over his relationship with McLaren and his teammate Lando Norris.
The McLaren drivers have dominated the 2025 F1 season but it’s Norris who holds a 24-point advantage heading into this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Piastri’s early season form has curtailed, he led the Drivers’ World Championship standings by 34 points after the Dutch Grand Prix in August and has not had a single podium in his last five races which is his worst run of form since early 2024.
His woes continued in Brazil where he was handed a 10 second-penalty for an incident involving Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc allowing Norris to extend his advantage and put him in the driving seat for a maiden WDC victory.
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Amid his poor performance on the track, there has been constant noise over his relationship with McLaren and some suggestions that he could look to leave the team.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown claims the team do not have a number one driver with both men expected to race under ‘Papaya Rules’. Both drivers can fight each other on the track, but race clean and avoid collisions at all costs unlike other teams such as Red Bull, who favour a lead driver and will tailor their race approach to maximising the lead driver’s gain.
Despite McLaren taking this approach, there have been a number of incidents which have led to some suggestions that Norris is in fact the favoured driver out of the two and a social media post by Piastri has reignited the debate.
The Australian driver has reposted a quote from ex-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone who claimed Norris was being favoured by the team.
He was quoted as saying: “McLaren prefers the English driver Norris. He has more star quality and marketing appeal for them. He has more camera presence and publicity. That’s probably why he’s better for McLaren.”
It’s unclear whether Piastri reposted the quote by mistake but it remains on his official Instagram account at the time of writing.
Brown has previously rejected any suggestions that the team have any favouritism.
He said: “This is why there is a good relationship between Lando and Oscar. They know they both have the same opportunities to fight for the championship. We are transparent, fair, we communicate. We are racers.”
Piastri also publicly shot down speculation after the Brazilian Grand Prix and claimed he was happy with how McLaren had conducted themselves.
Piastri added: “People will always talk, especially when things get close. But internally, it’s calm. I know what’s going on, and I’m happy with how McLaren has handled things.”
Topics: Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, McLaren, Formula 1, Motorsport
Marcus Banks