Zak Brown Called Out Over Radio Message to Piastri Moments After Losing F1 Title

McLaren racing CEO Zak Brown has been criticised for his radio message to Oscar Piastri after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

After nine months of drama, the 2025 Formula One season came to end with a title-deciding race at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

Heading into the race, Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri were all in contention for the Drivers' Championship title, but ultimately it was Norris who came away as champion.

Having topped the table for the majority of the season, the result is particularly painful for Norris' McLaren teammate Piastri, who eventually finished P3 in the season standings.

Despite this, the Australian remained classy after missing out on the title, but perhaps the same cannot be said for McLaren boss Brown.

Throughout the season, Formula One fans have claimed that Brown, who has worked with Norris for over 10 years, was favouring the British driver over Piastri.

In several moments during the season, fans have pointed out his behaviour towards Piastri compared to Norris, suggesting that his real feelings towards the pair are clear.

And Brown's post-race radio message to Piastri after he narrowly missed out on the 2025 title is just another example of this.

As Tom Stallard, Piastri's race engineer, calmly informed his driver about the results of the race, Brown suddenly interrupted to excitedly and brashly congratulate the Australian on a great season, despite the fact he had just lost the title race to his teammate.

"What a season, what a season,” Brown shouted.

“You're a star. Seven wins. We love ya. We'll do it again next year. Thank you, Oscar, for everything you've done. What a year."

The McLaren Racing CEO later added: "Oscar, very proud of you. Awesome. What a team player. "We go again next year. See you on the podium."

Post-race, the moment was addressed by 2016 F1 world champion Rosberg, who crticised Brown for his lack of empathy in what would have certainly been a tough moment for Piastri, despite the team's success.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Rosberg said: “I mean, that’s his most horrible moment probably in a long, long time in his racing career,” he assessed.

“Maybe Zak could have had a little more empathy there rather than celebrating, being like, ‘I’m so sorry, Lando [sic, Oscar], next year is your year’, or something like that. But it’s difficult for Zak because, of course, he’s so ecstatic at the same time, so I understand.”