McLaren Fired F1 Driver on His Birthday With Brutal Email

McLaren once brutally fired a Formula 1 driver on his birthday - a reminder of the team's ruthlessness as speculation grows over Oscar Piastri's future.

The Australian's struggles continued this weekend at Interlagos, where his teammate Lando Norris extended his advantage in the Drivers' Standings to 24 points.

Piastri crashed out of Saturday's sprint race before managing only fifth in Sunday's Grand Prix, while Norris claimed victory in both.

For Piastri, it is the continuation of a worrying run of form.

The 24-year-old has suffered a dramatic dip at a crucial stage of the season, failing to finish on the podium since the Italian Grand Prix more than two months ago.

Now, Swiss outlet Blick has reported that Piastri has begun to 'set his sights' on a move away from McLaren.

That is despite him remaining under contract with the team until the end of the 2028 season, with Ferrari emerging as a potential destination should he seek a move.

Oscar Piastri has struggled since the summer break (Image: Getty)

While McLaren boss Zak Brown has given no public indication that Piastri's seat is under threat, the team has shown they do not hesitate to make tough decisions.

Back in 2014, McLaren decided to drop Kevin Magnussen for the following season to make way for two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, pairing him with Jenson Button.

Magnussen was first demoted to reserve driver for 2015 before being released the following year.

However, the way the news was delivered was especially harsh.

Instead of being told in an in-person meeting, he received an email from Ron Dennis' personal assistant, according to planetf1.

Kevin Magnussen at McLaren in 2014 (Image: Getty)

Magnussen said: “It was a short paragraph explaining that there would be nothing for me in the future.

“It arrived on my birthday, actually…”

He was not the first to be harshly dismissed by McLaren.

Sergio Perez, who raced for the team in 2013, was let go after just one year.

The Mexican later claimed he had already signed the documents and returned them to McLaren, only to find out the team had decided to replace him with Magnussen.

Although there is currently no suggestion that Piastri will face a similar fate, tensions have flared up between the McLaren drivers at times this year.

The pair have been allowed to race freely as long as they avoid contact, but that understanding came under strain in Singapore when they banged wheels.

They collided again at the United States Grand Prix, but the last two race weekends were incident free.