McLaren F1 confirms it won’t issue team orders, backing equal status for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in drivers’ title fight.
Zak Brown has no issue with the idea of McLaren F1 losing the drivers’ championship if it means the team can avoid issuing team orders between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Equal Chances, Constructors First
The CEO of the Woking-based team confirms that the Constructors’ Championship is the priority and that he prefers to let his drivers race freely.
“The best way to win the Constructors’ Championship is to finish first and second in the Drivers’ Championship, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Brown told PlanetF1.
“And then, the way to let the drivers decide who’s first and second is to treat them fully, fairly, transparently.”
“You’ll notice that in the last race [Imola], Oscar went out first in Q3. The previous race, Lando went out first in Q3. When upgrades are brought, if one of them benefits from it one weekend—because we can’t supply both—then the other will benefit the next weekend, and vice versa.”
Fair Play Over Politics
With such fairness, McLaren offers both drivers the same opportunities: “For us, it’s quite an easy thing to manage. Our drivers aren’t asking for favoritism; they’re asking for fairness, and that’s what they’re getting. I think they’re very comfortable: may the best man win.”
“I hope we’re giving them a car and an environment where, come the last race, they’re both still in contention, and they haven’t taken points off each other to the extent that Max Verstappen or someone else takes advantage. But if that happens, then the driver who wins the championship will have done a better job.”
No Sacrifice for Fairness
And if that costs the team the drivers’ title, Brown is ready to make that sacrifice: “I’m comfortable with that. I’m comfortable because the other scenario is this: how do you pull a driver out of a championship fight when he’s still in it? That’s just not right.”
“If you have a second driver who’s not in the championship fight, then I get it—like sacrificing Yuki Tsunoda’s qualifying because he’s helping Max, or whatever else. I understand compromising the second Red Bull car because it’s not in contention for the drivers’ title.”
“So it’s an easy decision to make. But when you have two drivers first and second in the championship, separated by less than a second-place finish, how can you even think about demoting one to a support role? There’s no chance we would do that.”
Things Can Still Change
The situation isn’t set in stone, and the American says that he and Andrea Stella will revisit their stance if either Norris or Piastri begins consistently outperforming the other and pulling away in the standings.
“Our view is that, until it becomes clear that one driver has a significantly better chance than the other—as we did last year—we’re never going to favour one driver when both are fighting for the championship. Now, from the Constructors’ perspective, that only benefits us.”
“Obviously, from the drivers’ point of view, you could argue Max has 110% support, so he probably picks up a few extra points because his teammate is there to help, whereas our guys can take points off each other—which is exactly what happened in 2007 when we didn’t win the championship.”
Earn It, Don’t Inherit
The 2007 reference recalls the season where Kimi Räikkönen came back from a 17-point deficit with only 20 points left in play to beat Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, who were at war within McLaren. But Brown believes neither Norris nor Piastri would want team help.
“Our drivers want to win by beating all 19 competitors. So there’s also that element—until you get to a point where it’s clear, and I’m optimistic and hopeful it won’t come to that, I’d rather have two drivers fighting for a title than one playing a support role.”
“But both of our drivers have said they want to win the championship by beating everyone—including their teammate. I think they’re less interested in winning because we sidelined a teammate.”
- Discover More>Vowles: Hamilton Move May Be Ferrari’s “Good Mistake”
- Following us on>Facebook and>Twitter