Oscar Piastri stirred up controversy on social media in the lead-up to the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The McLaren driver had shared a post containing sharp remarks by Bernie Ecclestone about alleged bias within McLaren. The former Formula 1 boss claimed that the ‘papayas’ have a preference for Lando Norris, as he would be a better figurehead for the brand. However, Piastri denies that he deliberately reposted the message.
Piastri has been in a noticeable slump for several weeks. After leading the world championship for fifteen Grand Prix, he lost that position to teammate Lando Norris during the Mexico City Grand Prix. Since then, the Brit has only extended his lead. Outraged fans suggest that McLaren is deliberately sabotaging Piastri’s races to make Norris champion, something the team vehemently denies.
Yet, the controversial ‘papaya rules’ have often raised questions about possible bias within McLaren and an alleged preferential treatment for Norris. Last week, Piastri added fuel to the fire by sharing some sharp remarks by Bernie Ecclestone on Instagram. “McLaren prefers the English driver, Lando Norris,” Ecclestone declared to the German Sport.de in November. “He has the aura of a star and is much more attractive from a marketing perspective. That’s why he’s probably better for McLaren.”
Norris Expresses Outrage
Piastri was confronted with the news during the race weekend in Las Vegas. He denied intentionally sharing Ecclestone’s comments and said he couldn’t precisely recall what happened. “I don’t know,” the Australian shrugged to the press. “I saw it when I woke up this morning. Maybe I did it accidentally. It was clearly not on purpose. I don’t know what happened.”
Nevertheless, the incident caused a lot of uproar on social media. Piastri’s actions did not sit well with teammate Lando Norris. The Brit pointed out the Australian’s recent slump in form and emphasized that McLaren would discuss the incident internally. “It’s clear that he (Piastri) has been struggling lately,” Norris responded to Spanish Diario Sport. “I know how hard that can be, but he has crossed a line here. We will discuss this internally.”
