McLaren CEO Zak Brown has admitted that it is inevitable that Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will clash at some point as their battle over the Formula 1 title heats up.
The Woking-based squad has built on clinching the Constructors’ Championship last season to dominate the opening stages in 2025 with victories in all but one race.
Norris prevailed in the season opener in Australia, but he has not repeated that high since as Piastri has won three times in four rounds to bag the championship lead.
McLaren’s undeniable advantage over the opposition with the pacesetting MCL39 car has seen the Drivers’ title be billed as a straight duel between Norris and Piastri.
But while the duo have avoided colliding since McLaren’s ascent to the front, Brown has professed the team is expecting that moment to arrive in the coming months.
“The good of the team is to try and get 1-2s,” Brown told Channel 4 in Saudi Arabia. “It’s up to them to decide who is P1 and who is P2. They are free to race.
“You haven’t seen that really epic battle yet. I think it’s a matter of time.
“They will race each other cleanly and hard.
“It’s not ‘if’ something happens, it’s ‘when’ something happens… It’s okay, they are racing hard, they are strong competitors.”
How McLaren is preparing for internal clash
Brown revealed that McLaren has held internal conversations about a potential incident in advance to ensure that it is prepared to manage the situation once it arises.
“We have already discussed it. All those people who want to see something exciting happen? It will be a non-event,” Brown asserted.
“We will talk it through, learn from it. You can’t have two drivers like we have, and not expect some excitement from time to time.”
Norris recognises tough times ahead
McLaren bears a track record when it comes to intra-team fallouts, but potential tension developing between drivers would be a new experience for the current set-up.
Norris denied that his tussle with Piastri can be compared to Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna’s spat in the 1980s, but he has recognised that it won’t remain plain sailing.
“I don’t think we’ve probably got quite to that stage yet, but it’s our first time that we are really going head to head,” he acknowledged.
“And I’m sure there is going to be a lot more instances where we’re battling or racing against each other.
“Many things can happen, and I’m sure there are going to be plenty of trickier or tougher times.
“But we acknowledge this. We both know we’re ready for these kind of situations.
“We want to beat each other, but we’re also team mates, so it’s not an easy dynamic.
“It’s never easy to get the balances perfect, but we’re working as hard as a team to make sure that we do.”
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