Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri

Credits- Imago

Ever since McLaren became a championship contender, questions about driver hierarchy have arisen frequently. However, McLaren has refused to prioritize either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri. While outsiders struggle to understand why the Woking-based outfit allows intra-team battles, CEO Zak Brown has an explanation.

At the Italian GP, Piastri’s overtake on Norris during lap 1 seemingly hampered their chances of finishing 1-2. Although they secured a double podium finish with Piastri leading, Norris lost out on crucial points in his bid to contend for the Drivers’ title.

“They are both young drivers who want to win,” Brown justified to Sky F1. “We have always believed in having two number ones. That’s always been McLaren’s way, it can be difficult to manage. We’ve seen it with Senna and Prost.”

Brown, of course, was referring to the Ayrton Senna-Alain Prost rivalry at McLaren in the late 1980s. Their heated battles on the track often resulted in double DNFs, courtesy of deliberate crashes. Both won championships with McLaren, with neither backing down from a fight. Brown hinted that Norris and Piastri may need to settle their differences in a similar manner.

The Bristol-born driver is ahead of Piastri in the championship and has a real shot at dethroning Max Verstappen.

As such, many F1 entities, including 2016 World champion Nico Rosberg and veteran journalist Will Buxton have criticized McLaren’s refusal to pick Norris as their number one driver.

“Time is Going Away Slowly” 

With only eight races remaining, every point earned by Norris is crucial in his championship pursuit. He is 62 points behind Verstappen’s P1 — a gap that could have been reduced further had McLaren not botched the strategy in Monza or made up for it by swapping the two papaya cars in the closing stages.

After the disappointing Italian GP finish, Norris said, “I wouldn’t say we’re running out of time, but time is going away slowly. “I don’t know… when you’re fighting for a championship, you want every little thing and I’m doing everything I can.” 

Ahead of the Azerbaijan GP in two weeks, Norris will be hoping for Red Bull’s struggles to continue. If the Milton-Keynes-based team remains out of podium contention and Norris starts winning consistently, the title race could take a more exciting turn. However, McLaren may need to take a stand if Piastri’s challenge starts limiting Norris’ results.