'A matter of when, not if' - McLaren braced for driver collision
McLaren are expecting contact between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri this season.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown believes contact between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at some point during the 2025 F1 season is “inevitable”.
The McLaren pair appear to be in a direct head-to-head battle for this year’s F1 world championship after largely dominating the opening four races of the season.
Norris won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, while Piastri claimed impressive victories in China and Bahrain to close to within three points of his teammate in the drivers’ standings.
So far, Norris and Piastri have kept things clean on track. But speaking ahead of qualifying at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where McLaren once again appear to be the team to beat, Brown admitted he is expecting a collision between his drivers.
"I think it’s definitely a matter of when, than if. You have two racing drivers, whether in the same team or different team, that are next to each other for 24 races, someone’s going to lock a brake,” Brown told Sky Sports F1.
"So, I’m kind of looking forward to getting it over with because I don’t think it’s going to be anywhere near as exciting as everybody thinks. I think it will be a racing incident when that day comes. I think it’s inevitable.
"They’re two great characters. Neither of them are hotheads, so we’re not worried about it, and to a certain extent, kind of looking forward to just getting it out of the way."
McLaren praised for ‘papaya wrecks’ approach
Brown’s approach has been praised by Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle.
"It's incredibly smart what they are doing,” Brundle said.
"What Zak is saying there is that 'papaya rules' will become 'papaya wrecks' at some point. [He's saying] 'we've got two incredibly fast drivers with a potential championship-winning car and it's going to get rough at some point’.
"What that is doing is managing down so the team doesn't go into meltdown, the drivers, the drivers' entourages, and indeed the media.
"He what he's saying is 'we know it's going to happen, we'll manage it when it does turn up, but don't all overact to it’."
McLaren lead the constructors’ world championship by 58 points as they look to defend their title from 2024.
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