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In the aftermath of the Brazilian Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri found himself at the centre of bizarre online conspiracy theories. Some fans claimed that McLaren was sabotaging him to help Lando Norris in the title fight. The accusations were unfounded, yet they spread rapidly and added pressure to a driver already battling mistakes, expectations and an intense comparison with his teammate. This analysis uncovers how these theories arose, what the sporting reality looks like and how Piastri is trying to stay afloat while Norris elevates the championship fight to a new level.
How the Conspiracy Theories Started
The origins lie in a series of unfortunate weekends. In Brazil, Piastri lost time in qualifying and struggled with race pace, making his deficit to Norris more visible. On social media, the disappointment of some fans mutated into stories about team orders, preferential treatment and even deliberate manipulation. Selective radio clips, isolated graphs and frustration over strategy choices were combined into an alternative narrative.
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These patterns are not new. Modern F1 fan culture thrives on storylines. For Norris fans, he is the rightful champion. For Piastri supporters, he is the young prodigy who deserves absolute equality. When both groups seek explanations for setbacks or errors, the ground becomes fertile for emotional interpretations that bear little resemblance to sporting reality.
Piastri immediately dismissed any suggestion of internal bias. He stressed McLaren’s transparency and recognised his own mistakes as the far larger factor. Even so, the scale of the debate demonstrated how thin the line is between analysis and fiction in the current digital climate.
Sporting Reality Versus Online Perception
Trackside, the story is simpler. Piastri is in his second season and often shows flashes of exceptional speed, particularly over a single lap. Norris, however, is further along in his development, more complete in his racecraft and more adept at extracting performance from the McLaren’s narrow operating window.
The McLaren is a complex machine. It is extremely sensitive to setup and tyre temperature. When it works, Norris finds the limit effortlessly. When it does not, Piastri tends to lose more time. This amplifies the perception that the car is tailored to Norris, when in reality it reflects how Norris exploits the car’s subtleties more consistently.
Online, the dynamics distort this. Clips showcasing Norris’ brilliance go viral. Clips highlighting Piastri’s mistakes gain their own momentum. The resulting narrative becomes far more dramatic than the objective sporting picture.
Norris the Title Contender, Piastri the Number Two?
The title fight heightens the tension. Norris is having the best season of his career and is fully in the championship battle. This naturally creates a hierarchy within the team. One driver still has a title to fight for. The other must score points to support the team’s overall ambitions.
Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes have faced the same dynamic when one driver enters a title fight. The difference is that McLaren is relatively new to this position, making the sensitivity higher. Piastri must adapt to being the driver whose strategy sometimes bends toward the needs of his teammate. That is not favouritism. It is competitive logic.
This does not mean McLaren is neglecting him. On the contrary, the team invests heavily in his development, offering long runs, experimental setups and extensive technical coaching. McLaren sees him as a future title challenger. But a young driver paired with a teammate fighting for a championship is always a delicate balance.
The Mental Weight of Mistakes Under Pressure
Where Piastri struggles most is with the mental burden of errors. Every slip, every missed qualifying lap, every misjudged setup feels heavier because he is compared directly to a teammate performing close to perfection. The mistake in Brazil, combined with earlier inconsistent weekends, triggered a chain reaction of self-reflection, pressure and public judgement.
Piastri is known for his calm, analytical mindset. But even for a mentally stable driver, competing under a magnifying glass built from online opinion and direct comparison with a driver in peak form is a major challenge.
For McLaren, managing that pressure is crucial. The future of their 2026 project rests on a complementary duo, not an internal rivalry pushed in the wrong direction. Norris has repeatedly praised Piastri’s potential, but peer support only works when results start aligning.
What Piastri Must Do Heading Into 2026
The coming races are pivotal. Piastri does not need dramatic turnarounds. He needs a sequence of clean weekends, without major errors, where his natural speed converts into stable points. Small steps, not big gestures.
McLaren views him as a cornerstone of the 2026 project. The question is not whether Piastri is good enough, but how quickly he can refine the final details, mentally and technically, to stand alongside Norris on a consistent basis. The conspiracy theories will fade once the results return. What remains is the reality that Piastri is experiencing one of the toughest growth phases a modern top driver faces.
The post-Brazil drama was not evidence of sabotage. It was evidence of the pressure that comes with being an ambitious young driver in today’s Formula 1. How he handles that pressure will shape his trajectory toward 2026 more than anything else.
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