Zak Brown drops ‘keeping score’ hint after Oscar Piastri helped Lando Norris title bid at McLaren

McLaren have arguably the strongest driver pairing in F1, but their desire to compete at the front has caused some problems in 2024.

Lando Norris became Max Verstappen’s closest title rival around the midway point of the season as Red Bull suffered a significant drop in performance, while McLaren found themselves with the fastest car.

Claiming wins in Miami, Zandvoort and Singapore, the Brit was ultimately unsuccessful in his bid to win the championship as Verstappen sealed his fourth world title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Norris has made several costly mistakes throughout the season, but another issue he has had to overcome has been from the other side of the McLaren garage.

Since he joined the team in 2023, Oscar Piastri has shown great potential as a driver who can compete at the front of the grid, evidenced by two wins and seven podiums in 2024.

The Aussie has not shied away from his desire to beat his teammate, which led to McLaren having to step in with their ‘papaya rules’. Now that the drivers’ title is out of reach, Zak Brown has hinted that Norris may owe Piastri in 2025.

Zak Brown says McLaren ‘keep score’ of when Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri help each other

The term ‘papaya rules’ was coined at the Italian Grand Prix after the McLaren drivers had been getting rather close to each other on the track and jeopardising better results.

Piastri’s first lap overtake on Norris at Monza ultimately let Charles Leclerc pass the Brit and denied McLaren a one-two finish. The Aussie was then told to take a step back and help his teammate in his bid to win the championship.

Now that Verstappen has sealed the deal, McLaren will likely let Piastri fight Norris again, and Brown has hinted that the roles may reverse next season as the team ‘keep score’ of when the two help each other.

Talking about having ‘two great drivers’ in a team on Business of Sport, Brown said: “It’s not without its challenges. I’d rather have the challenges of two drivers fighting for a win than the challenges of one driver fighting for the win and the other fighting to get into Q3. That has plenty of downside.

“We got two great drivers with great relationships, transparent, we’re fair and so I think we can manage through their desire to beat each other because they’re both team players. They’ll be moments, as there have been this year of high stress, but that’s sport.

Asked how he goes about dealing with that desire, Brown said: “You don’t take them by surprise. You develop a plan every day, so we’re at the race track on Thursday, we talk about what we’re going to do on Friday, Saturday.

“So, good communication, good transparency. We do keep score when they help each other out, so we try and bring a balance to that.

“But I think just being up front and letting them know what our goals are and how their goals fit within our goals.”

Can McLaren hold on to the Constructors’ Championship in 2024?

Piastri says papaya rules have changed back to their original format, which should give him the freedom to challenge his teammate and compete for wins.

But the Aussie and Norris will have to be careful though, and while the latter missed out on the drivers’ title, McLaren are in a good position to win their first constructors’ title in 26 years.

The Woking-based outfit lead Ferrari by 24 points heading into Qatar. The Maranello squad dented their rivals’ lead by finishing third and fourth in Las Vegas, while Norris and Piastri could only manage sixth and seventh.

Lusail is a strong circuit for McLaren, given it was the site of Piastri’s first F1 win in the Sprint race last year. Their two drivers will have to keep their focus to stay ahead of the charging Ferraris and Red Bulls in the championship.