McLaren is already feeling the scent of a potential Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship and is thinking ahead to how to celebrate the title, 17 years after Lewis Hamilton secured his first championship in the chaotic finale at Interlagos. Unlike 2008, however, the championship contenders this year are the two Papaya-colored team drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, currently separated by just nine points. A direct intra-team battle of this intensity is rare in modern Formula 1, reminiscent of the internal clashes at Mercedes between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, where team tensions peaked in Abu Dhabi. McLaren is keen to avoid any similar scenario.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown is aware that, barring unlikely developments, the 2025 World Championship will be contested between Piastri and Norris. According to the natural rules of competitive sport, only one driver will celebrate the ultimate success, while the other must accept a bitter disappointment. In preparation for the title decision, Brown intends to sit down with both drivers to ensure that celebrations for the winner do not unintentionally hurt the feelings of the runner-up.
Zak Brown’s approach to celebrations
“We will sit down with them and say: ‘Okay, one of you will win, and it will be the best day of his life, but one will lose, so how do we handle this situation? Do you want us to jump for joy for the winner and celebrate him?’” Brown told The-Race.
“This is about understanding people in this environment. I’ve thought about how to act toward both the winner and the one who loses, and we will be very careful with this approach,” added the American executive.
Brown, at least in words, does not appear worried about the occasional on-track incidents between Piastri and Norris during the races in Austria and Hungary. “They won’t push each other off the track. They will behave fairly,” he commented. The upcoming races will reveal whether McLaren’s CEO’s confidence in the sportsmanship and maturity of his drivers is justified.
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