'Sensitive' Oscar Piastri v Lando Norris issue being managed by McLaren boss Zak Brown
Updated . First published at
McLaren boss Zak Brown is preparing to manage the individual ambitions of his two drivers as the Formula 1 season heads towards the chequered flag.
Despite the team enjoying one of its most dominant years since 1988, and a 200th grand prix win at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the title battle between Australia's Oscar Piastri and teammate Lando Norris is intensifying.
Fourteen races into the season, Piastri tops the drivers' standings with a nine-point advantage over Norris.
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Race winner Lando Norris and second placed Oscar Piastri. Getty
But with the possibility of only one winner, Brown has started thinking about the pointy end of the season.
Brown previously said the remaining grands prix will be a "coin toss" between the pair, with four-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen drifting out of contention in third.
With both drivers on course for their first F1 world title, when the championship rolls into Abu Dhabi in December, one will likely be celebrating while the other will be left yearning.
When that time comes, Brown says the team will navigate the situation considerately.
"Eventually... we'll just sit down and actually have a conversation and go, 'right, one of you is going to win and it's going to be the best day of your life. One of you is going to lose. How do you want us to handle that?'," he told media.
"We'll actually sit down and go, 'Right, you want us to jump up and down and celebrate? This guy won'. So we're fully aware and sensitive to how you celebrate that situation?"
Lando Norris, Zak Brown and Oscar Piastri after the Chinese Grand Prix. Bryn Lennon/Formula 1 via Getty Images
The team has won 11 grand prix this season, with Piastri having triumphed on six of those occasions. However, Norris has the momentum going into the sport's mid-year break after taking victory in Hungary.
Brown previously declared that the team would rather lose this year's drivers' championship than show favouritism towards one of their drivers' world championship tilts.
As such, McLaren has denied setting Piastri up for failure with a one-stop strategy, explaining Norris defied expectations on an ambitious two-stop to secure the win on Monday (AEST).
With a battle for the lead with six laps remaining, Piastri made several attempts to overtake Norris at the Hungaroring.
On the penultimate lap, and with one roll of the dice left, he threw the car into turn one but locked up, just avoiding a collision with Norris, who left room on the inside.
Piastri's race engineer, Tom Stallard, was quick to warn the Melburnian over the team radio: "Remember how we go racing, Oscar."
McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri battle for track position during the Hungarian Grand Prix. Joe Portlock via Getty Images
McLaren has allowed Piastri and Norris to race freely so far this season, believing their competitive rivalry will be a positive force for the team, as long as it stays within the bounds of mutual respect and professionalism.
Brown trusts his drivers to be hard but fair racers, but expects more close calls on track.
"There's competitiveness brewing... as the championship builds, I'm sure that tension will grow," he said.
"We're fully anticipating them swapping paint again at some point. I'm very confident it won't be deliberate, which is where you then get into the problems.
"They will have racing incidents in their future time here at McLaren, we know that and they know that, so we're not afraid of that.
"I'm positive they're never going to run each other off the track, and that's where you get into bad blood. So they're free to race... there are rules around our racing, which is to respect your teammate, they know that."
Ten rounds remain when F1 resumes at the end of the month with the Dutch Grand Prix.
