Zak Brown just said something painfully naive about McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris battling for F1 title

McLaren are faced with a difficult challenge in 2025; which driver to prioritise in the battle for the championship.

The Woking outfit won their first constructors’ title in 26 years last season, but missed out on the drivers’ championship to Max Verstappen by 63 points. This was, in part, due to indecisiveness with team orders, as they decided too late to prioritise Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri.

Coming into 2025, McLaren were the clear favourites, but the team, notably Norris, have been quick to downplay their dominance. After six races, ‘everyone’ in the F1 paddock thinks McLaren are ‘miles ahead’ with the alarming pace they are showing over their rivals.

The team have won five of the six races so far and are in a great position to claim both championships. Norris is looking to go one step further in 2025, but it is Piastri who has the upper hand.

The Aussie has claimed four wins already as he leads the championship by 16 points. The 24-year-old played second-fiddle to Norris in 2024 – Piastri is determined to fight for the championship this year and avoid any team orders.

McLaren’s intra-team battle will be intense in 2025 as Norris and Piastri have not shied away from wanting to fight each other and become world champions. It will be crucial for CEO Zak Brown to handle this correctly, but he has been incredibly naive so far.

Zak Brown insists Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris’ title battle will not end in ‘tears’ – a painfully naive take

Speaking with Bloomberg Podcasts, Brown pointed out that he has ‘never’ seen teammates fight for a world championship and it not end in ‘tears’. The McLaren boss insists his team are ‘different’ and will not have the same outcome in 2025.

“It’s interesting. What’s never really been done before, that I can remember, is two drivers competing for the world championship in the same team and it not ending in tears,” he said.

“That’s the reality. Andrea Stella, who’s our team principal, is responsible for the performance of the Formula 1 team, does an amazing job.

“Piquet-Mansell, tears. Rosberg-Hamilton, tears. Senna-Prost, tears. I can’t remember the last time there weren’t tears, but we’re going to be different and we’re on it.”

It is optimistic thinking from Brown, but also hugely naive. Piastri and Norris’ situation at McLaren in 2025 is no different to that of the examples he mentioned above.

With Piquet-Mansell, Rosberg-Hamilton and Senna-Prost, no driver wanted to bow down to the other, but ultimately, one has to come out on top. Either Piastri or Norris will get the upper hand in 2025; it is impossible to imagine the loser will be content with being runner-up.

It is a difficult situation to mitigate, but McLaren will not have one driver be happy with their teammate winning the title. Piastri and Norris have clear aspirations to reach the top in F1 and will do anything to achieve that goal.

READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

Oscar Piastri has established a clear advantage over Lando Norris in 2025

McLaren have insisted they do not have an outright No.1 driver, but will step in when one driver has a chance to win the title, just as they did with Norris in 2024. This year, the pendulum has swung in Piastri’s favour.

The Aussie has found a new level of confidence and performance in 2025. Jenson Button has noticed a ‘big difference’ from Piastri with his race pace as he has been mostly unchallenged while out in front.

The 24-year-old also seems to have learned how to battle Verstappen on track, as evidenced by their duel in Miami. Norris was ‘nowhere near’ Piastri as he struggled to get by the Red Bull driver in comparison, just as he did in 2024.

Damon Hill wants Norris to make a ‘clinical’ change so he can fight for the championship. Errors in his racecraft from last season are still present, while Piastri is establishing a clear advantage out in front.