Piastri absent: Why didn’t he celebrate McLaren’s F1 title?

Piastri’s Absence from McLaren Celebration Sparks Debate

Following McLaren’s victory at the Singapore Grand Prix, social media erupted upon noticing the absence of Oscar Piastri, the drivers’ championship leader. Piastri finished in fourth place, behind his teammate and championship rival, Lando Norris. This result, however, was enough for McLaren to be crowned constructors’ champions. The race was marked by controversy. Norris overtook Piastri on the first lap, almost sending him into the wall. Piastri expressed his frustration with the maneuver.

That’s not fair. I’m sorry, that’s not fair. If he has to avoid [Verstappen] by crashing into his teammate, that’s a pretty bad job of avoiding.

Oscar Piastri

This incident reduced Piastri’s lead in the championship to three points. After the podium ceremony for the top three, the McLaren team celebrated on the podium.

The song “We Are The Champions” by Queen resonated as Norris, the team principal, Andrea Stella, and McLaren CEO, Zak Brown, celebrated. Piastri’s absence generated speculation, but the reality was less dramatic. The post-race procedures in Formula 1 dictate that the top three drivers conduct television interviews before going to the cool-down room and then to the podium. Drivers outside the podium, such as Piastri, must go to the weighbridge and then to media interviews. The rules can be strict, even affecting drivers involved in incidents. An example was Lewis Hamilton, who was penalized and did not return to interviews. Regarding the incident with Norris, Piastri stated:

I need to see the incident in more detail, honestly. I think once I have the full picture of things, then yes, we will definitely talk about it. I want to see exactly what happened before drawing conclusions.

Oscar Piastri

Piastri joined McLaren for the planned celebration, a photo in the pit-lane with both drivers, the team and Stella. Another notable absentee was CEO Brown, who had already left the circuit to catch his flight. Brown commented:

Job done. See you in Austin.

Zak Brown

The United States Grand Prix is one of the six remaining races of the 2025 season. Piastri leads Norris by 22 points in the drivers’ championship. Both drivers aim to be McLaren’s first champion since 2008.