'Oscar Piastri has to leave!' F1 fans fury after McLaren staff refuse to celebrate his pole position

Oscar Piastri, Belgian GP, generic, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

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'Oscar Piastri has to leave!' F1 fans fury after McLaren staff refuse to celebrate his pole position

Oscar Piastri claimed sprint pole at the Qatar GP

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 30 November 2025 14:56

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Some F1 fans have continued to fall for McLaren conspiracy theories online after a clip from sprint qualifying went viral on social media on Friday.

Oscar Piastri's sudden dip in form since Baku has ushered Lando Norris into the lead of the F1 title battle, but the Aussie roared back to claim sprint pole at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Over the past three months, conspiracies have mounted over Piastri’s sudden decline, with claims that McLaren are favouring Norris in the title battle - despite the team’s constant reassurances that they are allowing their two drivers to race fairly.

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These rumours once again kickstarted on X, when footage from the McLaren garage circulated portraying a miserable gaggle of mechanics after Piastri achieved pole.

McLaren conspiracy continues to bubble away online

Fans on social media took to the comments section to vent their fury at the snub for Piastri, neglecting the fact the footage of the mechanics was from Norris’ side of the garage and therefore was unlikely to be jubilant that the other garage had beaten them to pole.

“I mean, they're not even hiding it...Oscar has to leave,” one fan wrote.

Another fan called out this conspiracy, and wrote: “That was Lando’s side of the garage. Please explain to me why they would be cheering for Lando's primary championship rival getting pole?”

A few other fans were also taken in by the bait of the social media post, with a second user adding: “McLaren going to ruin Piastri's pitstops for sure this weekend.”

Another added: “Shouldn’t you be happy for your teammate?”

However, for every negative assessment of the McLaren mechanics, were double the amount of comments from fans trying to douse the flames of the conspiracy theory.

Claims McLaren have favoured Norris in 2025 have not just been relegated to the dark corners of the internet, with former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone also adding fuel to the fire when he spoke to the media.

In the German media, Ecclestone accused McLaren of purposefully slowing down Piastri, claiming they preferred Norris due to his marketable qualities.

Needless to say, Zak Brown and Andrea Stella have denied this accusations at every available opportunity and have refused to install team orders, even with Norris being 24 points in the lead with two rounds remaining of the 2025 championship.

F1 Oscar Piastri Qatar Grand Prix