“We’re sorry”
Cursed? Burger chain apologizes for Formula 1 star’s crisis
November 13, 2025 – 6:03 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Oscar Piastri is in a deep crisis: he has long since lost the lead in the World Cup standings to teammate Lando Norris. Now a sponsor takes “responsibility” for it.
For Oscar Piastri, the last few weeks in Formula 1 were perhaps the most frustrating in his young career: the McLaren driver has been waiting for a podium finish for five races now, was repeatedly involved in accidents and received penalties. The Australian had to hand over the lead in the World Cup standings to teammate Lando Norris long ago. The gap is now 24 points, and with three races to go before the end of the season, Norris is the top candidate for the world title.
Since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku at the end of September, where Piastri retired early after a crash, the 24-year-old seems to have been plagued by bad luck. His results since then: fourth place in Singapore and only fifth place at the US Grand Prix, Mexico and Brazil. At the race in São Paulo, Piastri overzealously caused a collision with Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, who then collided with Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari – who then had to park his irreparably damaged car. Piastri was given a ten-second penalty. In the sprint race the day before, he was eliminated on lap seven after an accident. Norris, on the other hand, won both the sprint and the Grand Prix.
Now a company from Piastri’s native Australia has jokingly taken “responsibility” for the racing driver’s streak of bad luck. “Grill’d”, a popular chain of burger restaurants in the country that promotes Piastri, has apologized for “cursing” his season.
The reason: “Grill’d” offered free burgers for every podium finish the star made – exactly five races ago. Piastri’s negative series also began with the promise of burger roasters – a curious parallel.
“To anyone who believes in the ‘curse,'” the company wrote on Instagram, “we would like to apologize. To you and to Formula 1 fans everywhere. It was not our intention to create a burger so delicious that it would change the course of Formula 1 history. We are sorry.”
The statement concludes with warm words for Piastri: “He will always be our Australian hero and we will always support him.” And the offer has also been adjusted: After the early exit from the sprint in Brazil, there is now a free bonus burger if Piastri at least finishes the race.