Oscar Piastri issues Zak Brown defence after 'villain' remark

Oscar Piastri has moved to defend Zak Brown ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, insisting his relationship with the McLaren CEO remains strong despite the 'villain' label attached to Brown in his homeland.

Brown has emerged as a divisive figure in Australia following last season's controversial strategic calls that derailed Piastri's championship bid. 

An Australian politician publicly questioned McLaren's handling of 24-year-old during the 2025 campaign, particularly after contentious decisions at Monza and Qatar contributed to Piastri losing the drivers' title to Lando Norris.

When asked what his relationship with Brown is like — who was referred to as a 'villain' in Australia — Piastri said: "I mean, my relationship with Zak is very good, and I think it's gotten stronger the longer we've known each other as well.

"He's certainly good fun, and he's just good to have around. I think he and Andrea [Stella] are two people with very different styles that work well together.

"But no, the relationship between Zak and me is good. Obviously, we as a team — not necessarily Zak and I — had some tough moments through last year, as any team has, but I think our relationship has only gotten stronger from that."

Piastri eyes another step

For Piastri, the goal this season is to make another step in the right direction — something that will be trickier than before with the new power unit regulations.

McLaren is not expected to be as strong as it was at the start of last season in Melbourne, although Piastri remains confident that he can push on.

Discussing whether he can make another step this year, Piastri replied: "Difficult to know, because we've not started yet. But I think what's different this year, obviously, is the regulation reset. 

"I think having some of the off-seasons I've had previously, and some of the things I've learned from them, is definitely transferable into this year.

"Obviously, some of the challenges, driving style changes and things we're looking at are pretty different to what we've probably ever seen, but I'm confident that I can take another step forward — hopefully just using the same kind of processes as I have over the last few years — and we'll see where we end up."