‘Shut the f*** up’: Dave Hughes blasts McLaren boss Zak Brown
Dave Hughes has absolutely popped off, launching a scorching take-down of McLaren’s boss following his divisive antics at the F1 season finale.
Comedian Dave Hughes has let rip at McLaren CEO Zak Brown and accused the team of favouring Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri in a fiery rant.
Norris clinched his maiden Formula One world championship on Monday with his third-placed finish in Abu Dhabi enough to secure the title by just two points from Max Verstappen.
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There were jubilant celebrations as the 26-year-old Brit became the eighth drivers’ champion in McLaren’s history and the first since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
But it was heartbreak for Piastri, who came up 13 points short of glory and must have been left thinking ‘what might have been’ and cursing his run of six races without a podium late in the season.
Brown was criticised for jumping on team radio just after the Abu Grand Prix wrapped up and interrupting Piastri’s engineer with a message for the Aussie that lacked a fair bit of sensitivity.
You can read the full awkward radio exchange below, but it’s safe to say that Brown’s antics didn’t go down too well with Australian fans, with his description of Piastri as a “team player” difficult to swallow after the events of season 2025.
In a fiery rant on Instagram you can watch above, Hughes criticised Brown after the team boss labelled Australian Senator Matt Canavan’s comments claiming McLaren had dudded Piastri throughout the season as “uneducated”.
“Ooh Zak Brown you need to need the shut the f*** up,” said Hughes as he popped off.
“‘Australians are uneducated if they think we favoured Norris over Piastri’.
“Are we mate? Here’s one example. What about in Italy? Slow pit stop for Lando, ‘Oscar we need to swap spots because Lando had a slow pit stop, it’s only fair’.
“Is it? No one in the world thought that was f***ing fair mate. Lando got an extra three points that day because of that swap.
“What did he win the world title by? I’ll tell you Zak. Two f***ing points, mate. That’s one example. Six more under this video. Couldn’t find any that went the other way.
“Shut the f*** up, Zak. Enjoy your f***ing victory mate, but shut the f*** up.”
Brown also came under fire for an awkward public embrace with Piastri after McLaren’s baffling pit stop strategy denied the Aussie a crucial victory at the Qatar Grand Prix, which would have given him a fighting chance in the season finale.
Hughes wrote on Instagram: “Calling out BS with some FACTS. McLaren team orders 2025”, accompanied by a list of decisions that went against Piastri during the season.
“1. Australia: Piastri (P2) told not to attack Norris (P1) as the drivers navigate traffic
“2. Austria: Piastri (P2) warned that attempted overtake on Norris (P1) was overly aggressive
“3. Britain: Piastri (P2) asks McLaren to swap the cars after controversial safety car penalty for fairness; they refuse and Norris wins
“4. Budapest (P1) Oscar told to pit. handing Norris the win.
“5. Italy: Piastri (P2) told to return the position to Norris after the latter’s slow pit stop.
“6. Singapore: Norris makes contact with Piastri on opening lap; McLaren let him retain P2.
“7. Qatar: Oscar robbed of win as pit stacking would have been detrimental to Lando.”
Zak Brown’s radio exchange with Piastri
After crossing the line in Abu Dhabi, Piastri’s engineer Tom Stallard first said: “Good job Oscar. Obviously that means Lando is world champion”.
Before he could continue, an excited Brown took over, saying: “Oscar, what a season. What a season. You’re a star. Seven wins. We love ya. We’ll do it again next year.
“Thank you Oscar for everything you’ve done. What a year.”
Piastri responded with some classy words for his teammate.
“Thanks everyone. Well done to Lando,” he said.
“It’s been a great season trying to beat each other so congratulations. Well done to everyone in our team. Fantastic season. Thanks for all the work.
“We tried our best to get there, but it wasn’t quite to be. Well done everyone. Thankyou.”
Stallard responded by saying: “Well done to you Oscar as well. To be honest, where we were last year, the season you’ve put together is pretty impressive. So we go away. There’s a few wounds to lick and we’ll come back stronger.”
Stallard’s last few words were drowned out by Brown coming in over the top.
“Oscar, very proud of you. Awesome. What a team player,” Brown said.
“We go again next year. See you on the podium.”
The exchange ended with Piastri saying “Thanks Zak”.
Former world champion Nico Rosberg was critical of how Brown handled the delicate moment with Piastri over team radio after he crossed the finish line in Abu Dhabi.
Rosberg was on several occasions forced to watch his former Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton win the championship and knew exactly how Piastri would have felt hearing the words.
“That’s his (Piastri) most horrible moment in a long, long time in his racing career,” the German said on Sky Sports.
“Maybe Zak could have had a little more empathy there, rather than celebrating. He could have said, ‘Sorry, ‘next year will be your year’ or something like that which could have been a bit more fitting.
“But it’s difficult for Zak because he’s so ecstatic at the same time. So I understand.”
Brown could well be in for a frosty reception when the 2026 F1 season begins at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne in March.
For his part, Piastri was classy in defeat — commenting “congratulations” on his teammate’s celebratory Instagram post and posting: “Lots achieved. Lots learnt. Coming back stronger next year.”
Originally published as ‘Shut the f*** up’: Dave Hughes blasts McLaren boss Zak Brown
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