Zak Brown confirms: McLaren will not interfere in the World Championship title fight – but that could be exactly what brings Max Verstappen back into the race
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has confirmed that his team will not change its approach to the 2025 Formula 1 title fight with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris – despite the threat posed by four-time world champion Max Verstappen.
Verstappen heads to the Singapore Grand Prix on the back of two consecutive wins in Monza and Baku. His comeback is boosted by Norris’ seventh place and Piastri’s retirement after an accident in Azerbaijan.
This puts Verstappen 44 points behind Norris in the drivers’ standings and 69 points behind current leader Piastri – with seven races remaining.
McLaren wants to continue “as before”
But instead of establishing a clear number one driver, McLaren is continuing to let Piastri and Norris fight freely for the championship. While this approach has made for thrilling duels so far, it also carries the risk of bringing Verstappen back into the game.
“I think you have to keep an eye on Max,” Brown told Bloomberg. “But we just have to keep going as before.”
“Things are looking very good for the constructors’ title. We could have sealed the deal in Baku, but we’d rather not talk about Baku. Hopefully we’ll do it in Singapore.”
Brown explains McLaren’s stance
“We want our two drivers – and Max, although we’d prefer him out of the picture – to fight for the championship and both get the same opportunities and the same equipment. May the best man win. That’s our goal,” explains Brown.
McLaren wants to “intervene as little as possible,” the company boss continues. “But sometimes you can’t avoid it—Lando had a technical problem, or things can happen during safety car phases.”
“But basically, our goal is to set up Lando and Oscar so that they can fight for the championship until Abu Dhabi—and then may the best man win. “
McLaren is the favorite for both world championship titles
McLaren has had a dominant season so far. In Singapore, the team has the chance to secure the constructors’ title, as it currently has a 333-point lead over Mercedes in second place.
In the drivers’ championship, there are theoretically two other title contenders besides Piastri, Norris, and Verstappen: Mercedes driver George Russell and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, but they only have a mathematical chance of winning the world championship. Realistically, even Verstappen, in third place, is already an outsider.
