Fans spotted a hilarious throwback to Oscar Piastri snubbing Alpine over a McLaren Formula 1 seat in new Google Pixel advertisement.
The Australian mounted a valiant title bid against team-mate – and eventual 2025 F1 Champion Lando Norris – and Max Verstappen thanks to a competitive MCL39 last season.
The 24-year-old, who had been contracted to Alpine‘s junior programme however, signed up with the Woking-based team from the 2023 season onwards.
But a nasty contractual prelude, in which he publicly denounced the Anglo-French marque’s own announcement that he would be driving for them in 2023, has since become embedded in F1 folklore.
While Piastri has restrained himself from speaking out on this subject in the past, Google’s latest advert promoting the Pixel smartphone has seen the Australian break that particular trend – and in hilarious measure.
“I know I don’t always show it, but winning does excite me,” he can be heard saying with his patent poker face.
The frame then moves onto two men replacing a picture of the Alpine mountains with a painting of a Papaya fruit just as Piastri walks into the room.
Referencing his decision to sever ties with Alpine for McLaren, Piastri then hilariously adds, “So when I see a chance to get ahead, I will change things up.”
This would have come as a particularly brutal dig for the Enstone-based squad given the competitive difference between the two teams. McLaren won its second-consecutive Constructors’ title last year while Alpine finished dead last in the standings.
Fans were quick to notice this as well. One fan even commented, “The picture switch is absolutely diabolical… I love it”
Google has been a key technical partner for the Woking-based team’s F1 operations since 2022. Currently, the American tech giants are on a multi-year deal. Noticeably, however, they are yet to come onboard for the team’s highly-anticipated World Endurance Championship entry in 2027.
“Switching to Google Pixel was an easy decision,” Piastri explained. “Am I a Formula 1 racing driver? Yep. Am I a professional actor with a full emotional range? Nope. But I’m excited on the inside to be on the winning team with Google Pixel.”
Suzana Ristevski, Google Australia’s Chief Marketing Officer lauded Piastri for “embodying” the spirit of the brand, further strengthening Google’s integration with McLaren.
“Oscar embodies the ‘never settle’ mindset that drives Google Pixel – he is relentlessly chasing the best, just like we are,” she said.
“We’re thrilled to bring such iconic homegrown talent to the brand. This is a uniquely Australian campaign – it’s full of delight and showcases the very best of Google Pixel in a way that we know will really resonate with local fans.”
READ MORE – ‘S*** happens’: McLaren pledges to ‘bounce back’ after 2025 F1 ‘mistakes’
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