The drama surrounding McLaren’s title fight has reached an unlikely new stage - the floor of the Australian Senate.
Senator Matt Canavan jokingly asked transport officials on Monday: "Do you think McLaren is biased against Oscar Piastri and costing him the World Championship?"
What was meant as humour reflects a paddock atmosphere that is anything but light.
Suspicion has exploded again over McLaren’s botched Qatar strategy, with some in the paddock believing the team refused to pit under the early safety car because it would have benefitted Piastri more than Lando Norris ahead of the Abu Dhabi decider.
The belief is that McLaren preferred to disadvantage both drivers rather than risk boosting the Australian.
The behaviour of Piastri’s manager Mark Webber has become a focal point. F1 photographer Kym Illman reported that Webber gave Zak Brown an "icy look" after the American interrupted Piastri’s media session to offer an on-camera hug - something many interpreted as performative damage control.
Asked what Brown actually said during the hug, Piastri replied: "An apology. I can’t ask for any more than that."
Rumours are swirling that Webber wants Piastri out of McLaren entirely. He was even spotted sitting with Adrian Newey in the Aston Martin garage during the Qatar weekend.
The three-way title showdown between Norris, Max Verstappen and Piastri in Abu Dhabi will be the first since 2010 - but Max’s father Jos won’t be there, as he is competing in a rally in Kenya.
He still poured pressure on McLaren from afar.
"I can imagine there’s some nervousness at McLaren," Jos told Dutch language publication Formule 1. "This might be both drivers’ only chance at a world title. You never know if you’ll be in that position again."
He added: "People are now realising how special Max is. Teams don’t take Red Bull into account, they take Max into account."
Team boss Andrea Stella publicly boosted Piastri’s chances amid the internal tension.
"Oscar is certainly in a position to win the title. We’ve seen in history that sometimes the third candidate wins in the end," he said.
"The goal for McLaren is to beat Verstappen with one of our drivers. Whatever decision we make must comply with honesty, integrity and no surprises. If one of them can win the title, we will respect that."
McLaren’s "Papaya Rules" of strict equal treatment have been ridiculed throughout 2025 - especially after Qatar.
And with suspicion rising, yet another conspiracy has now taken hold: that McLaren and Formula 1 itself are benefitting from the artificially heightened drama.
Zak Brown fuelled that theory with a grin after Qatar.
"This is definitely a gift for Formula 1 fans," he said. "Yeah, it’s probably good for the numbers. That wasn’t exactly our master plan, but we’ll see what Abu Dhabi brings. We won there last year, so we’ll undoubtedly be strong."