Zak Brown reveals plan for ‘when something happens’ between McLaren drivers
McLaren have a plan for a Lando Norris v Oscar Piastri incident
Zak Brown has a plan already in place for “when” his McLaren drivers clash.
The McLaren CEO insists it is inevitable that Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris will have a contentious moment on-track this F1 season.
Piastri and Norris lead the championship, ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, after five rounds.
McLaren also possess the fastest car and are top of the constructors’ championship.
But Brown knows it cannot always be plain sailing and is prepared for when Piastri and Norris get their elbows out.
McLaren plan for Lando Norris v Oscar Piastri incident
“The good of the team is to try and get 1-2s,” he told Channel 4.
“It’s up to them to decide who is P1 and who is P2. They are free to race.
“You haven’t seen that really epic battle yet. I think it’s a matter of time.
“They will race each other cleanly and hard.
“It’s not ‘if’ something happens, it’s ‘when’ something happens…
“It’s okay, they are racing hard, they are strong competitors.
“We have already discussed it. All those people who want to see something exciting happen? It will be a non-event.
“We will talk it through, learn from it. You can’t have two drivers like we have, and not expect some excitement from time to time.”
Last weekend in Saudi Arabia, the McLaren drivers experienced vastly different fortunes.
Norris crashed in qualifying, leaving himself 10th on the starting grid. Although he somewhat rescued his mistake with a P4 grand prix finish, he lost the lead of the drivers’ standings.
Piastri now leads the championship for the first time in his career after tying Norris’ tally of F1 grand prix wins.
Piastri has won two grands prix consecutively but the next outing is in Miami, the scene of Norris’ season-changing win a year ago.
McLaren were criticised for their strategy last year when Norris emerged as a threat to Vertappen’s drivers’ title.
They opt not to name a No1 driver, a method also used by Ferrari - unlike Verstappen at Red Bull.
That meant Norris was occasionally not prioritised last season by McLaren, above Piastri, when he needed the points to challenge Verstappen.
That strategy evolved throughout 2024 but, this season, McLaren entered already with the best car and the highest expectations.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
