Did the Nico Rosberg curse cost Lando Norris in Canada?

The Nico Rosberg curse appeared to strike again at last weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix after McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris made contact.

Piastri and Norris collided on Lap 67 of 70 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the first major on-track skirmish between the McLaren team-mates and F1 2025 title contenders.

Nico Rosberg curse strikes again as Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri clash in Canada

Norris was out on the spot after the collision on the main straight, with Piastri finishing fourth after a precautionary tyre change under Safety Car conditions.

Norris immediately owned up to his mistake over team radio before seeking out Piastri to apologise directly to his team-mate in the TV pen in the paddock.

Although Norris was officially classified in 18th place, his failure to see the chequered flag in Canada has seen Piastri extend his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 22 points ahead of next weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.

Rosberg, the 2016 World Champion and former Mercedes driver, was on site in Montreal in his capacity as a Sky F1 television pundit.

And the German’s famous ‘curse’ seemed to strike again in Canada, where he posted a selfie to social media of himself on the starting grid, close to the area where Norris and Piastri later made contact.

In the accompanying caption, Rosberg wrote: “Are you ready?”

Rosberg’s comments were flooded with a series of witty replies after the race, with one user saying: “Wait Norris crashed here.” Another said: “Bro jinxed Norris.”

What is the Nico Rosberg curse?

In an amusing trend, Rosberg’s selfies have proved something of a kiss of death over recent years with a number of drivers suffering misfortune.

• Charles Leclerc (Monaco 2021): The Ferrari driver memorably failed to start his home race in Monaco after Rosberg took an image of his car on the grid.
• Max Verstappen (Hungary 2023): Rosberg posted an image of himself standing in front of Max Verstappen’s car ahead of qualifying. Verstappen’s run of five consecutive pole positions ended that afternoon as he was pipped to pole by Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.
• Lewis Hamilton (Hungary 2023): The following day, Rosberg took a similar image of Hamilton’s car outside the Mercedes garage. Hamilton went on to suffer a disastrous race, slipping from first on the grid to fourth.
• McLaren (Spa 2023): A week later at Spa, McLaren posted an image of a sign in the team’s garage reading: ‘No Rosberg selfies.’
• Carlos Sainz (Monza 2023): After Sainz claimed pole, Rosberg posted an image from the podium with ‘Forza Ferrari.’ Verstappen led a Red Bull one-two, with Ferraris settling for third and fourth.
• Lando Norris (Hungary 2024): Norris was also the unwitting victim of the last instance of the Rosberg curse when the 2016 title winner took an image of himself on the grid in Budapest, stating: ‘I got Lando Norris!’ Norris, who started from pole, finished second after following team orders to allow Piastri to claim his maiden F1 victory.