- Aussie racing star spoke out ahead of Australian Grand Prix
Oscar Piastri has defended McLaren team boss Zak Brown and claimed any accusations he favoured teammate Lando Norris in last year’s title fight are untrue.
The Aussie star led the 2025 F1 world championship for the majority of the season, but fell short of Norris and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to finish third in the standings.
As Norris began clawing his way back into championship contention, questions began to be asked on whether he was receiving preferential treatment.
But the Melburnian has put any rumours of friction in the McLaren garage between him and Brown to bed.
‘My relationship with Zak is very good and I think it’s gotten stronger the longer we’ve known each other as well,’ Piastri said.
‘Obviously, we just as a team, not necessarily Zak and I, had some tough moments through last year as any team has. But I think our relationship’s only gotten stronger.
Oscar Piastri (pictured) has spoken out ahead of the 2026 F1 season
Piastri’s McLaren team boss (pictured) came under fire for allegedly giving Lando Norris preferrential treatment
Norris (pictured left) won the 2025 World Drivers Championship – with Piastri (pictured right) finishing third in the standings
‘I’ve got nothing to prove. I’m certainly not going to have a rebellious streak or anything like that.
‘I think a pretty quick-fire way to make sure you’re not going to win a championship is to go against your own team. I don’t think that’s a very wise move, but yeah, definitely we’ve had discussions and worked on things we can do better this year.’
Allegations first surfaced at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, where McLaren ordered the Aussie to hand second place back to Norris following a slow pit stop.
It was then in Singapore where the allegations became much stronger.
Norris made contact with Piastri in the middle of an overtake early in the race, but wasn’t told to return the position despite the Aussie’s protests.
The 24-year-old will attempt to put last year’s heartbreaking end to the year behind him when the 2026 season begins on Sunday.
Piastri finished ninth in his home race at Albert Park in 2025, after sliding off the wet track while running in second.
The Australian Grand Prix is the first race with new technical regulations, which are set to shake up the sport one way or another.
Reigning World Drivers’ Champion Lando Norris claimed victory in last year’s rain-affected contest, with Max Verstappen finishing less than a second behind him.
Australia has never experienced a local favourite legally standing on the podium of their home race.
