Zak Brown isn’t pretending this title fight will stay squeaky clean. McLaren’s CEO says he fully expects Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to tangle again before the championship is settled — and he’s fine with that, within reason.
After sweeping to last year’s Constructors’ crown, McLaren has motored into 2025 with the same authority. The Woking team heads into the summer break on course for the double, with Piastri nine points clear of Norris and the papaya pair easing away from Max Verstappen after a seventh 1-2 of the season in Hungary. Verstappen is 88 points adrift of Norris, so unless something dramatic snaps, this one’s staying in-house and likely going long, maybe all the way to Abu Dhabi.
McLaren set out its “papaya rules” early — race hard, leave room, keep the bodywork intact — but the Montreal flashpoint proved nothing ever goes perfectly to script. Norris clipped the back of Piastri there and retired; Piastri still salvaged fourth. Brown’s takeaway? That won’t be the last flare-up, and McLaren won’t panic when the next one comes.
“In a World title fight between team-mates, everyone has a different perspective — and some people can be critical — so it’s important to clarify a few things,” Brown wrote in an open letter to fans. “I truly believe we have the best driver line-up in Formula 1, and I wouldn’t trade it for any other.”
He added that McLaren won’t anoint a number one. “We know the risk of not throwing our weight behind one driver, but we will give Oscar and Lando equal opportunity to fight it out on track… We recognise that incidents have happened and will happen again. It’s all about how well you’re prepared for those moments and how you deal with them.”
The American insists the benefits of letting them race outweigh the jeopardy. “I’m not naive. The adrenaline and pressure will rise, but the team will continue to work in harmony and manage the situations as they come.”
For all the needle a two-car title fight invites, both drivers have kept it refreshingly straight. Norris, asked about mind games with his teammate, wasn’t biting. “In 200 years no one is going to care, we’ll all be dead,” he told PA. “I’m trying to have a good time… That doesn’t mean I need to take it out on Oscar. Yes, he’s the guy I want to beat more than anyone else. But if I don’t beat him, then that’s just because he has done a better job.”
With 2026’s reset looming and this the first genuine title tilt for both, McLaren’s bet is clear: keep it fair, keep it fast, and live with the heat. The rest of us? Buckle up.
