Could the unexpected cancellation of a beloved burger deal be the reason behind Oscar Piastri’s sudden decline in the Formula 1 circuit? Some conspiracy theorists are certainly entertaining the idea.

The 2025 Formula 1 season has been tumultuous for Australian McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, with his streak of bad luck oddly coinciding with the end of a popular fast-food promotion offering free ‘Oscar Piastri burgers’.

Piastri kicked off the 2025 season as a strong contender for the Drivers’ Championship, building on the momentum from 2024 where he secured multiple victories and finished fourth overall.

By the season’s midpoint, Piastri had amassed seven victories, secured five pole positions, and stood on the podium 14 times, establishing a commanding lead over his teammate Lando Norris and fierce competitor Max Verstappen from Red Bull.

However, his promising campaign started to falter following the mid-year break. A rare crash in Azerbaijan disrupted his streak of consecutive finishes, and a series of strategic blunders and intense on-track confrontations with Norris began to erode his once comfortable lead.

Australian F1 star Oscar Piastri has his own Grill’d burger, which fans can get for free when he secures a spot on the podium

Motorsport personality Taylor Kitchen (pictured) pointed out that Piastri has failed to podium since Grill’d promoted the free burgers on September 16

Grill’d has now changed their rules so fans can get the burger as long as Piastri takes part in future races, no matter the result

In Brazil, a crash during the sprint race and a controversial penalty for a collision with Charles Leclerc cost him valuable points. 

Piastri finished fifth in São Paulo while Norris claimed victory, widening the gap between the McLaren teammates.

After the Brazilian Grand Prix, Norris leads the championship on 390 points with Piastri second on 366, a 24-point deficit heading into the final three rounds.

It has left fans scratching their heads over why Piastri’s form has fallen off a cliff.

Now American motorsport commentator Taylor Kitchen thinks she has cracked the code, claiming burger chain Grill’d has jinxed the Aussie driver.

‘Oscar Piastri hasn’t been on the podium since this restaurant [Grill’d] made this post [about free Oscar Piastri burgers],’ she said on an Instagram video.

‘All year long Grill’d has had a promo that says if Piastri podiums, fans get a free Oscar Piastri burger with purchase.

‘But right after his last podium in Monza, they posted about it on September 16, and since then, nothing.’

Fans have aligned the Grill’d promotion with Piastri’s fall from grace, saying they jinxed him (Piastri is pictured with girlfriend Lily Zneimer)

The Aussie will need a dramatic change in fortune if he’s to win the drivers’ championship

In almost two months of racing, Grill’d has not been able to give away a single free Oscar Piastri burger.

That prompted dramatic action from the burger giant on the weekend. 

‘He’s fallen out of the championship lead and on Saturday Grill’d posted the promo with updated rules,’ Kitchen said.

‘Now all Oscar has to do to unlock the burger deal is race, that’s it.

‘Which is probably a good thing, because there was no podium for Piastri in Brazil.

‘Those burgers are ready to be cooked – and so might Piastri’s championship hopes as the gap to his teammate continues to grow.’

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella is not waving the white flag on Piastri’s season just yet, though. 

‘From a pace point of view, I think the pace was quite encouraging in the second and third stint,’ Stella said after the Brazilian Grand Prix. 

‘In the first stint Oscar was carrying some damage on the tyre that was locked and he was also kind of thinking that the stint would have been long.

‘But in the second and the third stint I think the performance was good and just talking right now with Oscar, some of the adaptations that we talked about in these low grip conditions, I think he was able to execute them during the race.

‘So I think we take away from this event encouraging indications from a performance point of view and race pace point of view, and then I think we head to circuits where the behaviour of the tyres should be more normal now.’