The Hungarian GP marked the infamous return of the Nico Rosberg curse! While he did bestow his ex-employers, Mercedes with the best years of his racing career, post that he’s quickly become a thorn in their sights. At the 2023 Hungarian GP weekend, Lewis Hamilton stunned us all into oblivion with an exquisite Q3 final flying lap to register his first pole in almost 2 years. Then comes race day. And Rosberg wants to gee his old nemesis up by posting a selfie with Hamilton’s car on his Twitter handle. All hell broke loose after that for the Brit as he pummeled down the order to an eventual 4th placed finish. But McLaren didn’t want that blot around their name!

You don’t often see a Formula 1 World Champion being banned from the paddock let alone a team. However, the 2016 F1 champion, infamous for his antics, was seen as a threat to what turned out to be a pretty solid Friday for the Woking-based team.

Nico Rosberg takes McLaren ban on the chin

The 2023 Belgian GP Qualifying session was one for the ages. Mixed conditions and the flying McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were all that was needed to keep us on the edge of our seats throughout. But the team needed to first ensure one very important safety issue.

McLaren jokingly put up a picture of banning Rosberg from their garage at Spa. They captioned it, “We’ve seen your jinxing powers, @NicoRosberg.” But the German took this in his stride and wittily replied, “haha…heading to your factory for a selfie,” as he planned an alternative to rain on Norris and Piastri’s afternoon. 

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As things turned out, the Rosberg curse may have stayed away from Piastri during Qualifying, at least!

Zak Brown Reiterates His Trust in Oscar Piastri as $10,000,000 Legal Risk Proves Worth the Gamble

Oscar Piastri outshines Lando Norris

Piastri was giving full beans to his MCL60 out there. For the first time ever, it seemed as though the young Australian had the measure and maybe more of his highly regarded teammate, Norris. In the end, it wasn’t a false positive, as Piastri outqualified the Brit.

After Max Verstappen‘s 5-place grid penalty for taking an additional gearbox was applied, Piastri was promoted to a respectable 5th. While his teammate, Norris however, will start the race on Sunday behind the Dutch lion in 7th.

The McLaren boys will have another shot at Qualifying during tomorrow’s Sprint Shootout. How will they fare against each other and the rest of the grid?

WATCH THIS STORY | Is Oscar Piastri Already Justifying His Talent By Performing Better Than Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren?