As McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri wage a fierce battle for the 2025 F1 Driver’s Championship, team CEO Zak Brown remains steadfast in his belief that the duo can maintain their strong friendship despite their on-track rivalry.
With just 15 points separating the pair in the standings and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen now a distant third, the title fight has increasingly become an intra-team affair.
While their wheel-to-wheel duel in Austria thrilled fans, it also followed a tense moment in Canada where the two driversr made contact – an incident for which Norris took full responsibility.
Despite the high stakes and occasional clashes, Brown believes the mutual respect between Norris and Piastri – and the team-first culture at McLaren – will carry them through the pressure cooker of a title fight.
“I think the relationship they have is fantastic,” Brown told the media on Friday at Silverstone.
“We've put a lot of time and effort into building our team and having a chemistry within the team, and that starts with the drivers.
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“I think you saw how they handled Canada, how they've conducted themselves, and I see no reason why they can't have a big battle all the way to the end. May the best man win, and I'm sure they'll shake hands and congratulate each other.
“Obviously, both of them want to win, but I see no reason why, knowing the personalities and the way they race, that they can't remain very good team-mates.”
Papaya Rules Still Apply
One of McLaren’s calling cards this season has been its freedom-based racing policy – dubbed the ‘Papaya Rules’ – that allows its drivers to fight hard on track as long as it remains clean.
Despite now leading the constructors' championship by a massive 207-point margin over Ferrari, Brown made it clear that McLaren won’t be clamping down on the racing between its drivers.
“No. It's the same rules,” Brown said when asked if their championship position would impact team orders.
“Race each other hard, race each other clean, and try and get as many points on the board for the team. Then it's up to them to decide who is in front of who.”
Brown pointed to last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix as a prime example of the policy working at its best, with both drivers engaging in a tight but respectful battle that ended in Norris taking victory over Piastri without drama.
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Norris: McLaren pace strong but ‘nothing to be proud about yet’“It was very exciting [in Austria],” he said. “It was a great race. They raced each other very hard, very clean. I think that's what everyone was looking forward to seeing – finally, that epic battle.”
“Of course, anytime you have your two cars near each other, it's a bit of a nail-biter, but I thought they did a great job and it was a great race and it was good to see.”
With McLaren enjoying a dominant stretch in both championships, Brown is optimistic that their drivers can continue to deliver fireworks on the track — without sparking any internal fires off it.
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