29/04/2025
NEWS STORY
Zak Brown admits that as they battle for the title a clash involving his two drivers is inevitable.
Of course, McLaren has history, and with that in mind the Woking outfit is preparing for the clash that will inevitably happen as the focussed, almost remorseless Oscar Piastri battles his equally determined, yet frequently fragile teammate, Lando Norris.
Whilst there is doubt over some of the strategic calls that have appeared to favour the Briton, not to mention the drivers' own questioning of certain strategic demands, up until now it has been kept clean.
However, separated by just 10 points, and with Piastri coming off back-to-back wins - the first of the pair to do so - there is growing concern that at some point not only is there going to be a clash but that the team will have to make the toughest of decisions, which of its drivers to prioritise.
"The good of the team is to try and get 1-2s," says Brown. "It's up to them to decide who is P1 and who is P2," he adds, somewhat naively.
"They are free to race," he insists. "You haven't seen that really epic battle yet. I think it's a matter of time.
"They will race each other cleanly and hard," he continues, before adding the almost unnecessary... "It's not 'if' something happens, it's 'when' something happens... It's okay, they are racing hard, they are strong competitors.
"We have already discussed it," he says of the potential for such an incident. "All those people who want to see something exciting happen? It will be a non-event.
"We will talk it through, learn from it. You can't have two drivers like we have, and not expect some excitement from time to time."