McLaren F1 star Oscar Piastri struck by bizarre burger curse AGAIN

Oscar Piastri waves alongside a composite picture of a hamburger — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Social

Oscar Piastri struck by bizarre F1 burger curse AGAIN

Piastri's F1 season has been a tale of two halves.

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 26 November 2025 22:57

McLaren star Oscar Piastri has been struck by a bizarre curse from a fast food chain, during an F1 season which has been a tale of two halves for the Aussie racer.

Off the back of McLaren's first constructors' championship victory in 26 years last season, Piastri and his British team-mate Lando Norris were well positioned to hit the ground running at his home race in 2025.

But disaster struck for the Aussie in the opening round of this year's championship when he slid off the track and onto the grass on the 44th lap of the Australian GP at Albert Park.

Article continues under video

Roared on by his home crowd, Piastri managed to get his MCL39 going again and recovered to P9, an impressive feat but far from the race win he had likely been dreaming of.

As the season progressed, Piastri would become the only Australian driver on the grid, receiving full support from his home country as he took the lead in the drivers' championship after the Saudi Arabian GP.

The 24-year-old even garnered support from Aussie burger chain Grill'd, who introduced an offer in September that allowed customers to claim a FREE bonus burger coupon every Monday after each race weekend where Piastri ended up on the podium.

Is Piastri cursed by Aussie burger offer?

Since this offer was introduced however, Piastri has failed to finish in the top three of a grand prix, having not set foot on the podium since the Italian GP at the start of that month.

On top of this, the McLaren star also lost his championship lead to Norris, who has led the standings since the Mexican GP in October and looks set to secure the drivers' title this weekend in Qatar.

The peculiar timing was not lost on Piastri's fans, with many taking to social media to question if Grill'd were somehow to blame for the Aussie star's drop in form.

Perhaps not wanting to take any chances, the healthy burger chain went as far as to change that offer at the start of November to being a free bonus burger whenever Piastri raced.

But after a double disqualification for Norris and Piastri last weekend in Las Vegas, fans took to socials to joke about the link between the driver's bad luck and the burger offer yet again.

However, not all hope is lost for Piastri's title chances, as the papaya driver remains equal on points with Max Verstappen, sitting just 24 points behind Norris.

If this bizarre burger trend is anything to go by mind, Piastri will be lucky to start this weekend's Qatar GP!

F1 McLaren Oscar Piastri