McLaren F1 spark BACKLASH after controversial driver announcement

Brown, Norris, Piastri, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Social

McLaren spark BACKLASH after controversial driver announcement

McLaren F1 revealed a bizarre announcement with Oscar Piastri

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 30 December 2024 19:00

McLaren's Formula 1 outfit have sparked social media backlash after a post involving one of their drivers proved controversial.

2024 proved to be an excellent season for the ever-improving team, with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri able to score consistently strong results throughout the campaign.

READ MORE: Hamilton set to ditch key partner

Article continues under video

This led to a first constructors' crown for the team since 1998, with neither Ferrari nor Red Bull able to match the impressive tally that the papaya outfit put on the board.

Heading into 2025, McLaren will no doubt be looking to retain that title whilst taking a serious crack at the drivers' championship once again.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri achieved six race wins between them in 2024

Oscar Piastri was at the centre of McLaren's social media backlash

Piastri announces new grand prix

After prompting the generator with playful suggestions like 'moon with dogs in fairy costumes and broomsticks with lasers', the 23-year-old conjured up a poster for the non-existent event.

"The Moon Dog Grand Prix, let's make it happen" Piastri declared.

Whilst the Aussie racer seemed to be in support of the lighthearted announcement, fans took to the comments on the McLaren Instagram page to criticize the team's choice to promote the use of AI.

"Sad that you’re promoting AI and not supporting the hard working artists who create gorgeous (and frankly much better) posters for your team on social media" one user commented.

Another said: "Love you guys but let's promote real artists instead of AI please, by doing this you're supporting art theft 💔"

When the team revealed their driver's creation in a separate post, the comments continued to pour in, with McLaren facing further pushback over the concept.

Another Instagram user said: "fans with common sense don’t support AI, and before anyone will yell at me- yes i’ve seen the video with oscar and i still think this is wrong."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by McLaren (@mclaren)

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

View full biography

Red Bull Ferrari McLaren Lando Norris Kyle Larson Oscar Piastri