The drama at McLaren seems to have erupted. Yesterday in Singapore, the British team secured the Constructors’ Championship with six races to spare. However, the moment that went viral was not the celebration, but a video showing Oscar Piastri seemingly disconnecting the radio while Zak Brown was thanking him at the end of the race.
The footage, captured by an onboard camera in the Australian driver’s MCL39, showed Piastri unplugging the connector from the steering wheel while the McLaren Racing CEO was speaking to him. As reported by racingnews365, the newly crowned team confirmed that Piastri had already turned off the car at that moment and therefore never heard Brown speaking to him via the team radio.
“Oscar, two consecutive championships! Tough race, thank you for…” Brown begins, before the channel is abruptly cut off. According to the statements above, Oscar Piastri was completely unaware that Brown had been speaking to him through the team radio.
Additional online controversy arose over the fact that the team celebrated its latest title on the podium with Oscar Piastri noticeably absent. This was because the Australian was fulfilling media obligations at that time. McLaren later clarified that it was not Piastri’s intention to miss the celebration: “It was not our intention to celebrate at that moment, but we are grateful to F1 for making this possible for the team.”
To understand whether these controversies are genuine and if Piastri is truly frustrated with the British team, fans will have to wait a few weeks until Formula 1 returns to COTA in Austin for the next race. With the Constructors’ title secured, the two McLaren drivers will now be free to battle each other for the ultimate prize: becoming a World Champion for the first time in their careers.
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