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

Piastri’s Absence from McLaren Celebration

After the Singapore Grand Prix, while McLaren celebrated their constructors’ championship on the podium, social media was flooded with comments about a notable absence: Oscar Piastri, leader of the drivers’ championship. Piastri finished in fourth place, behind his teammate and rival in the drivers’ championship, Lando Norris. This result was enough to mathematically secure the constructors’ championship for McLaren. The race was particularly controversial for the team. Norris overtook Piastri on the first lap, almost sending the Australian driver into the wall at Turn 3. Piastri expressed his frustration during the following laps.

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

Oscar Piastri

This maneuver was crucial, reducing Piastri’s lead in the championship to three points.

After the podium ceremony for the top three finishers (George Russell, Max Verstappen, and Lando Norris), an unusual scene unfolded on the podium, with the McLaren race team celebrating. To the tune of Queen’s “We Are The Champions”, Norris joined team principal Andrea Stella, McLaren CEO Zak Brown, and most of the team to celebrate the achievement. The absence of Piastri generated speculation about whether he had chosen not to celebrate with the team. However, the reality was less dramatic. The procedures that drivers must follow after a Formula 1 race are determined by their final position. The top three give a television interview immediately after getting out of their cars, a requirement of Formula One Management (FOM). Then, they go to the cool-down room, where their conversations are broadcast to the audience, before heading to the traditional podium celebration. Normally, championship victories are formally recognized at the FIA’s end-of-season gala event, although this is something that Formula 1 owners, Liberty Media, have been trying to change since they took over the sport in 2018. Sources confirmed that the idea of the constructors’ championship was proposed to McLaren during the weekend. McLaren was reluctant to plan too much, worried about tempting fate. At the end of the race, McLaren had already mathematically secured the championship.

Brown and Stella gave interviews after the first three. Then, the McLaren race team headed to the podium for a unique celebration. Team sources confirmed that most members were unaware of the podium plan until after the race. Here is where the protocol for the drivers outside the podium is key. The drivers who finish outside the top three must go directly to the FIA scales before going to the media area for interviews. As he finished fourth, this applied to Piastri. It is common for drivers who finish fourth or less to do interviews while the national anthem is playing. Rules can be rigid. A good example was Lewis Hamilton, who gave interviews before meeting with the stewards for a scheduled hearing. Hamilton was given a five-second penalty for multiple track limit violations, which dropped him from seventh to eighth place, and he did not return to the press area to express his opinion. Piastri, when questioned about the incident with Norris, stated: “I need to see the incident in more detail. 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.” Piastri joined McLaren for the celebration the team had planned: a photo in the pit-lane with both drivers, the team and Stella. Reflecting the changing nature of the Formula 1 paddock, there was another notable absence in that photo: CEO Brown, who had already left the circuit to catch his flight. Brown crossed paths with members of the media as he headed to the celebration. “Job done,” Brown said with a radiant smile. “See you in Austin.” 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 hope to become McLaren’s first champion since 2008.