Fans see "villain arc" as Oscar Piastri appears to mute team radio after Singapore GP

A short clip of the end of the Singapore Grand Prix is circling social media, bringing to the surface a fresh round of commentary surrounding the clash between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. The video appears to show the Australian disconnecting his radio while McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown thanked him for his race, prompting several comments from fans who believe Piastri is entering his ‘evil era’.

This followed a tense opening lap brawl between the drivers as Norris lunged for an overtake at Turn 3, briefly tapping Max Verstappen’s Red Bull before hitting his team-mate. Norris scraped through with minor damage, leaving Piastri questioning whether his team would fix what he believed to be an injustice.

While George Russell won his first Singapore race followed by Verstappen, Norris claimed the last third of the podium with Piastri finishing fourth.

“So are we cool with Lando just barging me out of the way?” Piastri asked his race engineer at the time. Of course, he dodged any questions on the tussle after the race, but judging by his radio messages during the race, he was rather annoyed by the ordeal.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella hoped to defuse the narrative around this, but after having a peek on social media, it looks like he has failed.

“I’m ready for the evil Piastri era,” one fan said, expecting the driver to return with a vengeance later this season. “He’s done,” someone commented, while another urged a change of scenery: “He should leave and join Red Bull.” One post accused the team of skewed priorities: “McLaren would rather Max wins the title than Oscar. What a pathetic fake team.”

Another fan added: “Finally Oscars villain arc is complete.”

The video, racking up over 60,000 views in just over an hour on X at the time of writing, has received 4700 likes in the same time period, proving that regardless of which side of the fence you’re sat, the intra-team battle is certainly a major talking point of the season.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

“There have obviously been some difficult situations for the whole team. We have obviously spoken about a number of things,” Piastri confirmed after the race. “Could things have been better at certain points? Yes. Ultimately, it is a learning process with the whole team.

“I am very, very happy that the intentions are very well meaning, if that makes sense. I have absolutely no concerns about that. Obviously, there have been some tough situations this year. This is another one.”

The McLaren drivers head into the United States Grand Prix with Piastri leading Norris by 22 points.

Photos from Singapore GP – Race