In a moment that perfectly captures Australia’s obsession with its sporting heroes, Nationals Senator Matt Canavan turned a dry Senate committee hearing into an impromptu Formula 1 debrief on Monday, grilling bureaucrats about whether McLaren is deliberately sabotaging Oscar Piastri’s world championship bid. With the title fight hanging by a thread ahead of the Abu Dhabi finale, Canavan couldn’t resist asking transport department secretary Jim Betts: “Do you think McLaren is biased against Oscar Piastri and costing him the world championship?” The room erupted in laughter.
Betts, clearly caught off guard, offered a diplomatic non-answer, prompting Canavan to turn to Regional Affairs Assistant Minister Anthony Chisholm with the same question. Chisholm, a known motorsport fan, didn’t hold back: “I definitely think he’s copped some raw decisions this year.” The exchange quickly went viral, with Aussies loving the sight of Parliament House momentarily transformed into a pub debate about pit-stop strategy and papaya rules.
The bizarre parliamentary cameo came just 24 hours after McLaren’s catastrophic call in Qatar, where Piastri was cruising to victory from pole until the team left both cars out under a safety car while the entire field pitted. The blunder gifted Max Verstappen the win and kept the three-way title fight alive: Lando Norris leads by 12 points, Verstappen is second, and Piastri now trails by 16. Angry fans have accused McLaren of favouring Norris all season, and Canavan’s tongue-in-cheek intervention only amplified the national outrage.
For Piastri to snatch the crown in Abu Dhabi this weekend, everything has to go perfectly: he must finish in the top two, and both Norris and Verstappen need to stumble badly. If he wins the race, Norris must finish sixth or lower; if he takes second, Verstappen needs fourth or worse and Norris ninth or lower. Meanwhile, a single victory would seal it for Norris, while Verstappen can still mathematically retain his crown with a win and help from traffic. The odds are stacked against the Aussie, but the country is firmly behind him.
As the Senate hearing proved, Oscar-mania has well and truly gripped Australia. From Parliament House to living rooms across the nation, the feeling is unanimous: the kid from Melbourne deserves better than raw team orders. Whether McLaren finally backs him or not, Piastri has already won the hearts of an entire country heading into the most dramatic F1 finale in years.
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