Oscar Piastri was caught on camera grilling Max Verstappen over his tactics immediately after Lando Norris won the F1 title for the first time in his career.
Both Piastri and Verstappen finished ahead of Norris at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but the British driver secured the crown after finishing the campaign with the most points, having clinched third on the podium in the Middle East.
It was a spectacular day for the McLaren driver, who was overcome with emotion after etching his name into the history books.
But Piastri, who led during the early stages of the campaign, appeared dejected as his own dreams of title glory went up in smoke.
After the race, the Australian was filmed talking with Verstappen as they watched the race back. He turned to his rival and didn't appear too impressed that the Dutchman hadn't attempted to slow down the cars behind him.
Piastri said: "Didn't want to back everyone up?"
Verstappen, who didn't seem too disappointed, then replied: "When I heard the top 16 were still in the pit window, I thought that wasn't too bad."
Lando Norris, you are a 2025 F1 World Champion 🏆🥹 pic.twitter.com/WGMd52sQbJ
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) December 7, 2025
While Piastri will be frustrated, McLaren chief Zak Brown insists that he's got the potential to win the title one day despite narrowly missing out to his teammate this time around.
"He is a future world champion. Both of our guys won seven races, drove brilliantly, supported each other," said Brown.
"It's a cruel sport, things sometimes go your way, sometimes don't. I'm excited to go racing with these two drivers next year."
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McLaren chief Zak Brown has backed Oscar Piastri to win the F1 title in the future
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Brown also lavished praise on Norris, who has emulated Lewis Hamilton with the first F1 triumph of his career.
"I'm unbelievably proud of the team, unbelievably proud of our two drivers," he said.
"We let them race until the end. Most people thought that would be impossible to pull off. It's a dream racing with these two guys.
"Oscar and Lando have been awesome all year. It hasn't been easy. This Max guy is quite hard to beat, so it's quite the accomplishment.
"So well deserved from everyone. I can't wait to get back to the factory and celebrate with the entire team!"
Norris, meanwhile, spoke of his delight with the McLaren star hailing the team for helping him achieve his dream.
Lando Norris has become the first British F1 driver since Lewis Hamilton to win the World Championship in a tense final race | GETTY"It's incredible. It's pretty surreal. I've dreamed about this for a long, long time. Everyone does.
"A lot goes into a season like this. A lot of ups. A lot of downs, but none of that matters as long as you come out on top.
"That's what we managed to do. I did it with an incredible team," he said.
Speaking about his family, who watched him win, Norris added: "My best performances this year came when I needed them the most. When I was on the back foot is when I did my best and showed the most of me. I managed to get the gap I needed to perform and do what I needed to do today.
"I'm proud. I've got my whole family, my girlfriend, a lot of people here. I would hate to embarrass them on a day like today.
"My mum and dad let me share this dream and today I got to share it with them."