Potential Conflict Between Norris And Piastri Can Be Managed Says Brown

Monday, 01 January 2024 at 03:00

Zak Brown suggested his McLaren F1 team is prepared to handle any potential conflicts between its drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Lando Norris recently said he felt like his relationship with Lando Norris had been very good from the start. The British driver seemed to have no problem with any driver on the grid, and it proved to be the case with Piastri as well.

Moreover, former F1 driver Martin Brundle suggested the Norris/ Piastri duo works very well as the Australian driver pushed his teammate to new heights.

On the other hand, whenever equally matched teammates meet in battle for podiums, victories, or even Championship titles, it doesn't help strengthen relationships between the two drivers.

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In F1, the teammates are the biggest rivals, and while they compete to collect points for the same team, both also compete to retain their seats and to win the Drivers' Championship title. As reported by Motorsport Week, Zak Brown said:

"Not a concern, there’s an awareness that anytime you have two drivers that one is going to have to beat the other at some weekends."

If McLaren succeeds in building a contending car, monitoring the situation between their two drivers has to be one of its priorities.

"They’re super competitive right now, you feel a real energy around them driving for the team. We know there will be a day, probably sooner rather than later, when they’re looking after their own interests."

When talking about this problem, Mercedes's 2016 season often comes up. In 2026, we F1 saw one of the biggest rivalries between teammates - Lewis Hamilton and Nico Roberg.

The two Mercedes even crashed into each other during the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix and put themselves out of the race. However, McLaren's CEO feels he and his team principal can manage their drivers to avoid such situations.

"I feel Andrea’s and my strengths are around driver management, so I think we can get ahead of that and manage it to make sure it stays a healthy competitiveness."