McLaren Favoritism Debate Rages As Australian Senator Enters The Fray

An Australian senator has questioned whether McLaren is favoring Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri in the quest for the Formula 1 drivers' world championship after the team's strategic blunder at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Piastri was enjoying a much-needed strong weekend, having failed to secure a podium since winning the Dutch Grand Prix eight races prior, taking victory in the sprint at the Lusail International Circuit as well as pole for both sprint and grand prix.

After a strong start saw him take a comfortable lead in the early stages of the race on Sunday, Piatsri's race was undone when McLaren was the only team to opt against pitting during a safety car period on lap seven.

"Frustrating night" for Australians, says Senator

Not the result he had hoped for, but another solid weekend with a Sprint win and a P2 🏆 #McLaren | #QatarGP 🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/de3uy4WIE3
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) November 30, 2025

Despite finishing second and cutting the gap to teammate Norris in the battle for the title, Piastri fell behind eventual winner Max Verstappen in the standings and now faces the largest mountain to climb out of the three protagonists, leading to questions from Australian senator Matt Canavan.

“It’s been a bit of a frustrating night for some Australians,” said Canavan. “I don’t know who to ask this to, but you deal with transport and cars. So do you think McLaren is biased against Oscar Piastri and costing him the world championship?”

That's where his inquest ended, but it follows a narrative often debated on social media between fans of both drivers, especially since the position swap at the Italian Grand Prix, which was caused by a slow stop for Norris, dropping him behind Piastri despite having been ahead all race.

Any suggestion of favoritism has been ruled out by the McLaren Racing CEO, who recently made an appearance on The Sports Agents podcast.

Asked whether the team was backing Norris more than Piastri in the closing stages of the season, Brown responded: “That’s total nonsense. We hear the nonsense out there. There’s a lot of it. On one end, it’s frustrating because people are so uninformed.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren, embraces CEO Zak Brown after winning the F1 2025 Dutch Grand Prix at the Circuit Zandvoort | McLaren Racing

“It’s hard to prove [that there’s no favoritism], but we know it, Oscar knows it, Lando knows it, the team knows it. Unfortunately, in today’s social media world and clickbait headlines, the facts are just so wide of the mark sometimes.”

Norris leads Verstappen by 12 points and Piastri by 16 going into the Abu Dhabi season finale, meaning the Briton only needs to finish third at the Yas Marina circuit to secure a maiden F1 title.

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