Last weekend’s Saudi Arabian GP has put all doubts to rest about who are the leading contenders for the championship this season. The MCL39 has been a cut above the rest, and the duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have shared four wins amongst themselves in the opening five rounds of the championship.
In terms of out and out pace, McLaren have looked strong even when their rivals have brought a competitive enough package. So, it is looking ever so likely that even if the title race goes down to the wire it will be the Woking team’s drivers who contend for the drivers’ crown.
Being in the same machinery, that is the benchmark of the field, and with no other title rivals in sight—unless Max Verstappen pulls off a superhuman effort to stay in contention—McLaren CEO, Zak Brown has come to terms with the fact that there might be an intense intra-team rivalry brewing in his garage.
“I’m looking forward to it. Although clash might not be the first word I would use. But it is inevitable that it will happen once, in a season with 24 races where everyone sees full on the limit,” he explained as per De Telegraaf when asked if he is ready to witness a rivalry between Piastri and Norris. But will it become as controversial past-intra team rivalries?
Brown warned people to not get their expectations high about any drama that could rival the likes of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton’s intra-team spat at Mercedes between 2014 and 2016.
The American is of the strong opinion that while the two drivers will battle each other very hard on track—and he expects some incidents, too—once off the track, they will shake hands instead of throwing punches.
“The whole world looks forward to that moment. I understand that too. Our rivals will be hoping for it. But I think everyone will be disappointed in the outcome. That they will shake hands afterwards, instead of punching each other in the nose,” he added.
Oscar Piastri now has the same number of race wins in F1 as Lando Norris…
He’s participated in 82 fewer Grand Prix. pic.twitter.com/zM0b7q34qz
— Autosport (@autosport) April 20, 2025
This is because the 53-year-old believes that both Norris and Piastri have always been clean and fair racers—without the unnecessary aggressiveness that can lead to situations between teammates that we might have seen in the past.
The race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Sunday, might have already sowed seeds of discontent within Norris’ camp. Piastri‘s third win of the season meant that the Australian leapfrogged his teammate to take the lead of the drivers’ championship.
Going into the sixth round of the season at Miami, the Woking-based team are expected to excel given their superior tire conservation. Naturally, Norris will be looking to deliver a blow himself by taking the win and the championship lead away from his teammate.
That said, his tendencies to crumble under pressure and make mistakes are starting to emerge again. Meanwhile, the Melbourne-born driver has racked up three Grand Prix wins in the last four races. So, with Piastri starting to get the better of him on all fronts, Norris is feeling the heat of the championship battle.
