Oscar Piastri’s reaction to a brutal Charles Leclerc remark has gone viral on social media following the Miami Grand Prix.
Australian Piastri, 25, clinched third place behind Kimi Antonelli and McLaren teammate Lando Norris on Monday morning (AEST).
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Leclerc, 28, dropped from third to sixth in the final stages of the race — and was then handed a 20-second penalty which relegated him to eighth.
But it was his comments over the radio earlier in the Grand Prix that he was questioned about in his post-race press conference.
Leclerc could be heard telling his engineer: “Kimi is so bad on wheel to wheel. He moved under braking, it’s unbelievable, we’re going to crash.”
This remark was put to him after the race — while he sat beside Piastri and Norris.
And Piastri was visibly stunned by Leclerc’s less than complimentary words towards Antonelli as he raised his eyebrows and looked towards the Monegasque driver with a surprised expression.
Leclerc retracted his criticism, saying: “I was being a bit harsh, maybe, with the adrenaline inside the car.
“He’s the only Italian driver on the grid against Ferrari. I wish it was with someone else, and I really like Kimi also as a person.
“It’s just sometimes a little bit too close for comfort and not really needed as well. So, in this particular case, I was quite angry in the car, but the comments were probably a bit too harsh.”
But Leclerc’s justification did little to stop the huge reaction on social media — namely to Piastri’s facial expression.
Karan said: “That face says it all. Defending in these 2026 cars is basically optional. Oscar speaking facts while the rest smile through the bumper car era.”
M4X added: “That face is every driver the second Miami gives them one normal lap and then throws chaos back at them lol.”
Another F1 fan replied: “That reaction says everything. Pure chaos and joy combined.”
Despite the criticism from Leclerc, Antonelli has now won the last three Grands Prix and leads Mercedes teammate George Russell by 20 points.
Leclerc is third, 41 points adrift of Antonelli — with Piastri a further 16 back as McLaren continue to improve following a nightmare start to the season.
Following the Miami GP, Piastri praised his team’s resilience after mechanical issues meant he didn’t race in Australia or China.
He said: “It’s not been the most straightforward of weekends. Qualifying yesterday was a bit messy for both of us.
“The pace seemed more encouraging today. Had to make a few overtakes, the end of the race was a pretty late charge. Very tricky around here in these conditions. Thanks to the team, clearly we’re a step closer in performance once again, nice to see.
“This weekend we showed if we get track position we can hang on to things. We were close in Japan, taken a step forward and hopefully we can take a step forward in Canada.”