Oscar Piastri was mocked by sections of the crowd at the MCG as the Aussie F1 star made a special guest appearance at the Boxing Day Test.
Just a few weeks after his heartbreaking drivers’ championship loss at the last grand prix of the year, the Melburnian was being interviewed on the famous ground during a break in play on Saturday when the jeering began.
England’s Barmy Army fans were heard singing ‘You’re just a s**t Lando Norris’ as Piastri was out in the middle during the tea break.
It was a reference to the Aussie losing his battle for the drivers’ title with English McLaren teammate Norris, who beat him to the crown by just 13 points as the result was decided at the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi.
Piastri had been the clear-cut championship leader for most of the season before a slump late in the campaign saw him fall behind Norris and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
The McLaren team is based in England and a series of controversial incidents left fans and some experts convinced that the top brass were biased in favour of Norris and helped cost Piastri the world championship.
Oscar Piastri is pictured at the MCG on day two of the Boxing Day Test, where he was mocked by sections of the crowd as he appeared on the pitch
The F1 star was interviewed on TV (pictured) during a break in play
England’s Barmy Army (pictured) sang ‘You’re just a s**t Lando Norris’ while Piastri was on the ground in a reference to his rivalry with his English McLaren teammate
To add insult to injury, Aussie cricket fans also made Piastri the butt of jokes during his appearance at the Test, which the home side lost in stunning circumstances.
The match lasted just two days thanks to a farcical wicket, with the early result leaving supporters furious and Cricket Australia out of pocket by as much as $10million.
Fans branded the F1 star a bad luck charm for Australia, light-heartedly claiming he was a jinx on the side.
‘The only test Oscar went to, is now the one Australia is losing. Man can’t catch a break,’ one wrote.
‘Another test over on day 2. Oscar is truly cursed,’ added another.
‘Like the [drivers] championship, Aussies are snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in this test,’ a third wrote.
‘Can someone kick him out? We are losing for the first time. Can’t be a coincidence,’ another commenter said.
Piastri was warmly greeted on the field by Mitchell Starc and got a photo with Starc and his teammates Alex Carey, Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green and rested skipper Pat Cummins.
Piastri is an unabashed cricket fan who has met the Aussie team on several occasions and posed for this photo at the MCG on Saturday
The Aussie lost his drivers’ championship battle with teammate Norris (pictured together) by just 13 points this season
Piastri (pictured with girlfriend Lily Zneimer) was light-heartedly branded a jinx for the Aussie cricket team as they lost the Test to England
The team caught up with the McLaren star in June, just ahead of the World Test Championship in London.
Cummins and the rest of the side got a tour of the McLaren base in Woking and even got to race him on the simulator.
‘To become mates with Oscar and see the way goes about it, to follow his career closely now and jump on the sim behind him was a life lesson to me to not change gears and put it straight in the wall,’ spinner Nathan Lyon joked at the time.
Piastri is a lifelong cricket fan who played for West Bentleigh as a youngster in Melbourne.
He told Fox Sports that he has been a regular at Boxing Day Tests and recalls watching David Warner make his debut for Australia at the MCG in 2009.
Asked about wearing former fast bowler Brett Lee’s jersey from the 2003 World Cup in the Formula One paddock in 2023, he said, ‘It was just after we won the [2023] World Cup so I thought I’d make sure everyone in the F1 world knew.
‘It was great to be able to share that and carry a bit of Australian heritage and success everywhere I go.’
Channel Seven’s Mel McLaughlin also asked Piastri about whether he and Norris are mates.
‘He’s good. We get on well,’ he replied.
‘We work together well. I think we’re hopefully going to be battling each other for championships for many years to come.’
