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McLaren’s social media teams have been blasted by fans online after they appeared to post an image of Oscar Piastri on their Instagram in the wake of the controversial events that unfolded at last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.
Tensions were high this weekend after the Australian's team-mate, Lando Norris, made up ground on Piastri as the pair battled it out to win this year’s Drivers’ Championship.
Piastri finished fourth, one place behind Norris at the Singapore Grand Prix, but following the race, the 24-year-old fumed after his British team-mate appeared to make contact with him on turn three of the first lap.
A civil war at McLaren has since exploded, with Piastri requesting the team should have taken action against the Brit, which they ultimately denied. They claimed that his contact with Piastri was caused by him attempting to avoid hitting Max Verstappen moments earlier.
‘That wasn't very team-like,’ the Aussie vented over the team radio.
'So are we cool about Lando just barging me out of the way or… what's the go there?'
Oscar Piastri (left) fumed at his team during this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix after his team-mate Lando Norris (right) crashed into him
Piastri (pictured) was heard telling racing bosses on the microphone that it 'was not fair' that Lando had 'barged' him out of the way, ultimately finishing behind the Brit
Team bosses then explained that they would review the matter after the race, but Piastri claimed: ‘That's not fair, that's not fair…’
'If he has to avoid another car by crashing into his teammate, then that's a pretty s*** job of avoiding.'
Norris would go on to close the gap between himself and his team-mate to just 22 points at the top of the Drivers’ standings, and his third-place finish would see the Woking-based team win their second consecutive Constructors’ Championship.
Piastri was so annoyed about the race result that he didn’t even join his team to celebrate the achievement on the podium.
After the race, he was still disgruntled by the matter, stating: 'We're obviously encouraged to share our views on what happened, and I did that, and I'm sure we'll discuss it more.'
Norris, though, didn’t see eye-to-eye with Piastri’s claims.
'Anyone on the grid would have done exactly the same thing as what I did,' the Brit said.
'So I think if you fault me for just going up the inside and putting my car on the inside of a big gap then, yeah, I think you shouldn't be in Formula 1.'
McLaren took to Instagram to post a picture of Piastri, but fans have since slammed the team for what they called 'desperate' and a 'PR stunt'
Chief executive Zak Brown claimed that the team had simply been #letting them race’, but questions have already been asked this year over the team’s rules which have seemingly at times favoured Norris. One of those came into play in Italy last month, where Piastri was told to give back a place when Norris had a slow pit stop.
This week, McLaren have copped some criticism over their handling of the situation in Singapore, particularly from Formula One fans on social media.
The team published a montage of some of Piastri’s highlights this season on their Instagram, with the caption: ‘OP81,’ adding a love-heart emoji.
But a raft of Instagram users called them out for the post, stating: ‘They tryna make up for it now.’
‘Damage control button,’ another added.
‘Insane levels of guilt / damage control happening at McLaren HQ right now lol.’
‘This is getting embarrassing now,’ another said.
‘Got so desperate, they just started posting him for no reason to recover the damage,’ one added.
Zak Brown (pictured) had claimed that both drivers had been free to race, but Piastri fumed that ht
Speculation has been mounting in recent days that Piastri could be looking for a move away from McLaren
It comes as Formula One commentator Martin Brundle called on bosses at the Papaya racing team to step back to allow their drivers to race for the World Championship.
‘I have no doubt whatsoever that the dynamics between the two McLaren drivers will irrevocably change going forward,’ Brundle told Sky Sports F1.
‘It was just a matter of time. Perhaps McLaren should now just let their two drivers duke it out, gloves off, between themselves with zero interference.
‘Any nuclear fallout will be tempered by the need to finish races, score points, avoid FIA in-race penalties, avoid Verstappen catching the pair of them, and running out of the latest specification of parts as the team focuses on 2026.’
Andrea Stella, the team’s principal, has since come to the defence of Piastri.
‘Obviously, Oscar made some statements while he was in the car, but that's the kind of character that we want to have from our drivers,’ Stella said to RacingNews365.
‘They have to make their position very clear, that's what we ask them.
‘At the same time, we have to put things in perspective – the perspective of a driver that is in a Formula 1 car with the intensity of it being the first lap, and the perspective that obviously just saw Lando moving onto him, but we know that Lando in reality had a contact with Verstappen and oversteered into Oscar.’
