We shared a McLaren conspiracy theory, and Oscar Piastri reposted it

McLaren F1 driver Oscar Piastri has got fans talking on social media, after his Instagram account reposted a GPFans post that highlighted a McLaren conspiracy theory.

We posted a graphic about Bernie Ecclestone's recent quotes in which the ex-F1 CEO claimed McLaren 'preferred' Lando Norris because he was British.

That post was uploaded to Instagram by us on November 4, but Piastri's account could be seen to have reposted it earlier this week.

Now, the repost button on Instagram is fairly new and it may well have been reposted accidentally by Piastri, plus Piastri's account may well be run by a team of social media experts, rather than himself. Nevertheless, the action has got many people talking across socials over whether the Aussie believes the conspiracy himself as screenshots continue to circulate.

"Is Oscar pressing repost on anything these days," one fan commented on Instagram, while another wrote: "Wait lmfao I totally forgot about this someone take away his repost button immediately."

Piastri's account has since undone the repost, with an account on X confirming that it no longer appeared on his Instagram profile.

What was the conspiracy theory?

The graphic in question referenced Ecclestone's quotes given to Sport.De in which he said: "McLaren prefers the English driver Norris. He has more star power and marketing qualities for them, more camera presence and public exposure. That's why it's probably better for McLaren."

These quotes played into conspiracy theories that have arisen on social media amid Norris and Piastri's world championship fight, theories that McLaren themselves have rubbished.

Claims that McLaren favour Norris largely began to circulate after a decision was made by the team at the Italian GP to swap Norris and Piastri around following a botched pit stop for the Brit, a decision that caused a points swing in the championship battle.

Norris has since gone on to take a commanding lead in the standings, and sits 24 points ahead of Piastri with three race weekends remaining, but fans have refused to let the moment go and have frequently booed the 26-year-old at recent races as a result.

CEO Zak Brown has constantly reiterated that McLaren have two number one drivers in F1 and that neither Piastri nor Norris get preference, recently telling the Beyond the Grid podcast: "We won't do it [play favourites]. We're racers and we're going racing."

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