Ahead of the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, Zak Brown has launched a scathing attack against allegations that McLaren favoured Lando Norris in 2025.
2025 proved to be one of McLaren’s most successful seasons, winning both championships and having its drivers in contention until the final race of the year.
But this was a double-edged sword, as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri fought hard and gave no quarter on-track leading to moments the other gained an advantage.
This led to allegations that McLaren was favouring Norris following a pit stop mix up in Monza, allegations that only intensified in the second half of 2025.
Brown has vehemently denied these claims, reaffirming his position that McLaren has an equal status policy for both its drivers while racing.
“A lot of it was very inaccurate,” he confirmed to media including Motorsport Week.
“At the end of the day, we let both our drivers race hard.”
“We had two drivers who won seven races; it came down to the last race of the year, with both having a chance of winning the championship. We’re quite proud of that.
“We were prepared for the consequence of someone not winning because they’re taking points off each other.
Zak Brown admits to McLaren mistakes in 2025
Brown confirmed that both McLaren and its drivers made mistakes last season during their title runs, but attacked what he labelled “conspiracy theorists”.
He maintained his pride in the results from last season, calling those who believe McLaren engaged in favouritism as “uninformed”.
“As a racing team, you let both drivers race fairly equitably. And of course, we made mistakes along the way,” he said.
“They made mistakes along the way. That’s racing. The conspiracy theories and the allegations that were made were so wide of the mark.”
“I’m very, very proud of how our team and our drivers just stayed focused and we achieved what we wanted to achieve.
“We would have liked to have been first and second in the championship, but we won the constructors’, won the drivers.
“Both drivers had seven wins; we couldn’t be more proud of how they raced.
“But you can’t control people’s opinions in sport. People are going to have their views.
“It is shocking at times how uninformed people are in their allegations of what they think we’re up to.”
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