Oscar Piastri has played down the social media storm revolving around him ahead of the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix after a repost on one of his social media accounts suggested that McLaren favours his team-mate Lando Norris. This comes after he qualified fifth on the Vegas Strip.
Ahead of the weekend, Piastri's Instagram account briefly shared a graphic quoting a comment from former Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone, who had claimed that the Woking outfit is prioritising his team-mate. The post was deleted soon after, but fans of the championship were quick to pick up on it.
Speaking after qualifying under the lights of Sin City, Piastri was asked what had happened.
“I don't know, I woke up this morning and saw it, so I don't know. Maybe I accidentally did it, obviously it was not intentional, but yeah, I didn't know what had happened, so I don't know.”
He didn't elaborate further, but it's highly likely the driver had very little to do with the faux pas.
As is common across the grid, Piastri's social media channels are likely managed by someone else rather than being solely run from the Australian's own phone. It's likely that the driver had very little to do with the sharing of Ecclestone's quote. This would also explain how he "woke up" to the news.
While he's keen to distance himself from the post, he also faced a challenging qualifying session in the low-grip conditions of the Vegas street circuit. While Norris secured another impressive pole position ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Williams' Carlos Sainz, Piastri will start from fifth on the grid after a yellow flag ruined his flying lap.
This leaves Piastri playing catch-up as he tries to reel in the championship leader, who holds a 24-point advantage going into the weekend.
"It's Las Vegas after all, so a lot could happen," he said when asked if the poor qualifying complicates his title charge. "You know we've seen pretty entertaining races here the last couple of years, a lot of action, so hopefully I can get myself involved on the right side of that action and make up some ground tomorrow."
Photos from Las Vegas GP - Practice & Qualifying
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
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Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
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