‘Never bet against Oscar Piastri’ – Grill’d responds to ‘burger curse’ conspiracy

“Sabotaging” Oscar Piastri’s title bid with its “cursed” burger, Australian burger chain Grill’d says it didn’t mean to create a burger “so delicious it could change the course of F1 history”.

But it won’t apologise for backing the Australian driver in a free burger promotion that went, according to conspiracy theorists, horribly wrong.

The burger that ‘cursed’ Oscar Piastri’s championship chances

As Piastri claimed a 34-point lead over Lando Norris in the title race with a victory at the Dutch Grand Prix, Grill’d announced a promotion whereby hungry fans could get a free ‘Oscar Piastri 81 burger’ “when Oscar Piastri podiums”.

The promotion came into effect on the Monday after the Italian Grand Prix, a race that Piastri finished in third place.

That, however, stands as his most recent podium.

Amidst a faltering title quest and too many crashes, Grill’d quietly changed the promotion to “when Oscar races”.

Fans on social media were quick to pounce, calling out the burger chain for “secretly sabotaging” Piastri with its “cursed” burger.

Grill’d responded in a statement sent to PlanetF1.com.

“We’ve seen the tweets, the TikToks, the memes… and yes, we’ve heard the whispers. Apparently, our OP81 Burger is ‘cursed’.

“We’d like to apologise. To those who believe in the “curse”.

“We didn’t mean to create a burger so delicious it could change the course of F1 history.

“So yes, we’re sorry. Sorry our burgers slap that hard.

“The truth? We didn’t break F1, we just broke the internet.

“We call it flavour; you call it fate. And if great taste and giving Aussies a free burger is a curse, we’ll cop that.

“Just ask the 330,000 Aussies who’ve already devoured the OP81 burger.”

Oscar Piastri v Lando Norris: McLaren head-to-head scores

? F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

? F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

The Australian burger chain went even further as it embraced the tale of the curse with a range of merch that may be available soon, or “never”, as well as a Spotify playlist.

“In honour of our sincere apologies, we’ll be dropping a limited-edition range of ‘Sorry Not Sorry’ merch – a collection of tees, caps and totes, for those who want to wear their forgiveness proudly. Think “Sorry (Not Sorry) since 2025” and “Certified Cursed”. Available soon… or never.

“We’ve also dropped a ‘Sorry Not Sorry’ playlist, the official soundtrack to our remorse, featuring hits such as Sorry by Justin Bieber, Apologise by One Republic, and Please Please Please by Sabrina Carpenter. Because if we’re saying sorry, we’re doing it with a beat.

“Sure, we can take a joke about a curse, but we’ll never bet against a guy like Oscar Piastri. At the end of the day, Oscar’s our homegrown Aussie hero and we’ll always be in his corner.

“Today, tomorrow, and forever – we’ve got your back, Oscar.

“Fast, fearless, and representing the best of Australia, we couldn’t be prouder of him and to have his name on one of our burgers.

“Look, we know a good story when we see one and we love that Aussies care enough to turn a burger into folklore. We’re not superstitious, just super delicious.

“And if flavour really does have that kind of power… we’ll keep serving it.

“Swing by our ‘Sorry Not Sorry’ apology on @grilldburgers, we figured it was only right to make our public confession somewhere everyone could see it.”

With three races remaining this season, a total of 83 points in play, Piastri trails Norris by 24 points in the race for the F1 2025 World title.

Read next: PF1 verdict: Did Ferrari president’s ‘talk less’ Hamilton and Leclerc message hit or miss?