Brown insists Norris and Piastri are “great team players” ahead of the season finale
- Charlotte Mui
- Dec 5, 2025
- 3 min read
Written by Charlotte Mui
The 2025 Formula One season has been one of McLaren’s most successful campaigns in their history in the sport. With 14 wins between their drivers and the Constructors’ Championship sealed as early as Singapore, the papaya squad has been the class of the field for much of the year.
However, it has not been their success dominating recent headlines, but rather a string of costly errors and questionable team rules.
Coming into the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Lando Norris leads the World Drivers’ Championship by 12 points over Max Verstappen, while his teammate Oscar Piastri sits another four points back. Many believe the two papaya drivers would already have the top two places locked down, if not for a double disqualification in Las Vegas and a disastrous strategy call in Qatar which compromised both of their title bids.
Nevertheless, with one race to go, both drivers are still in contention for the ultimate prize, even if the margins are far slimmer than they might have been.
When McLaren CEO Zak Brown was asked about the mood inside the team, he stated: “Very excited, we had a team barbecue last night, some great speeches from Lando and Oscar.”
He then proudly emphasised the success of their team this year: “This is kind of a dream come true, a record season for us, tying up the Constructors’ [Championship] early, only the second team ever to have 800 points in a season.”
When discussing the state of the championship, Brown noted the historic nature of the showdown: “You’ve got three drivers with seven wins, Max one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport and our two guys [...] we’ve got two horses in the race.
“It’s exciting to be part of this history and everyone's going to be glued to the TV, [...] it’s been awhile since you’ve had an epic championship come down to this, so everyone’s excited, everyone’s in a good place.”
Despite Brown’s insistence that morale remains high, it’s hard to believe some frustration hasn’t built up within the team, particularly in Piastri’s camp after McLaren’s strategy blunder has all but mathematically taken him out of the championship fight.
Naturally, this raises the key question heading into Sunday’s race: will Piastri be asked to—or be willing to—assist Norris if the championship picture demands it?
All year, McLaren have operated on a policy of “fairness,” avoiding team orders that could take the opportunity to win the championship away from either driver. But with the actual championship on the line, will that philosophy hold? Or will the team accept watching both of their drivers lose out to Verstappen?
Brown’s comments on this situation indicate a shift: “If there comes a point in the season or in the race where it’s clear one has a significantly better chance than another…” he left the sentence hanging, instead bringing up the race in Baku last year where Norris supported Piastri to win the race. This indicates that, if the situation calls for it, Piastri may have to support his teammate’s efforts for the title, even after fighting him for it all year.
This season has been full of twists and swings in momentum, and one more may be on the horizon. The 2025 season will end on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, and whether F1 will be crowning a new champion remains to be seen.
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