Oscar Piastri vs McLaren: Insiders Reveal 'Unquestionable' Bias And Mistreatment Of F1 Star - Report

Last Updated:December 04, 2025, 13:09 IST

Oscar Piastri reportedly faces alleged bias and media bans at McLaren, deepening tensions as team seems to favor Norris ahead of the Abu Dhabi title decider.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri (X)

Oscar Piastri’s life at McLaren somehow finds a new low every week — and Abu Dhabi has added another page to the saga.

Calling what happened in Qatar a “robbery" is polite. Piastri did everything right at Lusail — sprint win from pole, race start from pole, flawless pace — only for McLaren to produce a strategy disaster straight out of a “How to Lose A Race You’re Winning" tutorial (p.s. Ferrari’s handbook)

The result? A free win for Max Verstappen —  and a stunned Piastri left holding second place and a thousand-yard stare.

McLaren’s reaction? A collective shrug. A soft “oops." The kind you expect from a toddler, not a title-contending F1 team.

Of course, this isn’t coming out of nowhere. Whispers of McLaren favouring Norris have been swirling for months — Monza team orders, Abu Dhabi title “assistance" rumours, and a laundry list of moments suggesting the papaya ship leans hard in one direction.

And now it’s reportedly boiled over.

According to CODE Sports, McLaren have banned Piastri from giving interviews to Australian media ahead of the Abu Dhabi title decider — claiming he’s “too busy" — while still allowing UK outlets full access.

It is believed that the decision has only deepened the internal tension surrounding Oscar’s treatment.

As per CODE Sports’ report, a veteran UK journalist even called it “the worst" treatment he’d seen of a top driver.

Several unnamed McLaren insiders have also allegedly claimed Oscar has been undermined throughout 2025 but won’t go on record for fear of “repercussions."

CODE Sports’ report reads:

The report also points to the tiny team presence at Piastri’s most recent podium and fans labelling Zak Brown’s mid-interview apology last weekend a “publicity stunt."

McLaren hasn’t publicly responded — but they didn’t help themselves either.

A recent video from the Abu Dhabi livery reveal shows Piastri seemingly being quietly shooed out after a group photo, so that Brown and Norris could pose alone with the car.

Oscar? Off to the side. Again.

“No Team Orders"… Sure

As always, McLaren insists they’re sticking to “equal treatment." No team orders, no sneaky priority for Norris — Piastri is “free to race" as long as he’s mathematically alive.

“We want to be fair to our drivers," Andrea Stella said.

Then came the fine print: more conversations are coming before Abu Dhabi, the approach will be “confirmed," and if one driver has a clear title shot… well, they’ll “respect that."

Translation? The papaya politics remain as flexible as the Qatar strategy that torpedoed Oscar’s win.

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