- Speculation that McLaren want Lando Norris to be world champion
- Norris leads F1 standings ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri
- After Piastri secured pole in Qatar, McLaren crew looked shattered
Damning vision circulating online has only enhanced speculation that McLaren’s pit crew are desperate for Lando Norris to be the next F1 world champion.
The significant problem, among accusations of favouritism, is that Aussie Oscar Piastri happens to drive for the same team.
Eyebrows were raised when Piastri, 24, secured pole for Sunday morning’s AEDT Qatar Grand Prix sprint race.
Norris – the current championship leader – finished third behind Mercedes driver George Russell.
And as F1 broadcaster Sky Sports panned to the McLaren engineers, their forlorn faces told the story.
It didn’t long for bemused F1 fans to react, with one posting on X: ‘McLaren’s garage was so sad when Piastri got pole….you’d think they were attending a memorial service’.
Damning vision circulating online has only enhanced ongoing rumours that McLaren’s pit crew are desperate for Lando Norris (pictured) to be the next F1 world champion
Eyebrows were raised when Aussie Oscar Piastri secured pole for the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race – and McLaren crew pit representatives looked forlorn at the outcome (pictured)
Piastri admitted McLaren had raised the possibility of giving Norris priority this weekend to avoid the possibility of Red Bull star Max Verstappen stealing the F1 championship – but the Aussie wasn’t interested
Another said: ‘The lack of clapping from the McLaren garage (for Piastri) wasn’t nice to see’.
Speaking post-race, Piastri was elated at the result.
‘It’s been a good day, which is nice for a change,’ he said. ‘Things clicked from the start, so thanks to the team.
‘It is only the sprint, but I’ll take what I can get. The pace was there all day, and hopefully we can keep that going.’
Piastri also admitted McLaren had raised the possibility of giving 26-year-old Norris priority this weekend to avoid the possibility of Red Bull star Max Verstappen stealing the championship.
However, the Aussie confirmed the suggestion was quickly shut down.
‘We’ve had a very brief discussion on it….and the answer is no,’ he said.
Piastri and Verstappen are 24 points behind Norris with 58 championship points still to play for.
Both Piastri and Norris are chasing a maiden world title.
