Zak Brown: I’d rather Verstappen wins title than favour Norris or Piastri

McLaren refuse to prioritise either driver in title fight

This is not the first time McLaren have been faced with the possibility of favouring one driver in a Championship battle. After last year’s controversial Italian GP, the team opted to prioritise Norris in the title race – to maximise his chances of catching Verstappen.

Twelve months later, the dynamics in the title race are different in more ways than one. With Norris and Piastri separated by just one points, it will obviously be difficult to prioritise one of the other.

At the same time, Verstappen and Red Bull’s resurgence have dramatically increased the pressure on McLaren.

Unlike last season, the papaya team have enjoyed the fastest car since the beginning of the season. In this sense, McLaren will be deemed to have thrown away the title if they cannot get across the finishing line.

For some observers, putting their Championship hopes behind one driver is their best chance of counteracting the Verstappen threat. For the Woking-based team, however, this assessment is not shared.

Speaking on the Beyond The Grid Podcast, Zak Brown emphatically ruled out preferential treatment:

“We’re well aware of 2007. Two drivers tied on points, one gets in the front. But we’ve got two drivers who want to win the world championship.

“We’re playing offence, we’re not playing defence.

“I’d rather go – ‘We did the best we could with our drivers tied in points, and the other beat us by one,’ than the alternative…

“Telling one of our drivers right now, when they’re one point apart – ‘I know you have a dream to win the world championship, but we flipped a coin and you don’t get to do it this year.’ Forget it!

“That’s not how we go racing. If 2007 happens again, I’d rather have that outcome than any other that involves playing favourites – we won’t do it.”

The pressure intensifies in Brazil

In an already very tightly packed calendar, the Brazilian GP adds another unknown into the equation with a Sprint Race. As seen in COTA, the Saturday Sprint has the potential to change the weekend’s entire complexion.

For Oscar Piastri, his recent decline creates an added incentive to win the Sprint Race and re-assert himself in the battle at the front. On the opposite side of the garage, Norris will be eager to maintain the recent trend.

Verstappen’s priority will be to ensure he closes the gap further at Interlagos, especially since any mistakes could see his hopes of a fifth title evaporate. Inevitably, he will be dependent on a competitive RB21 to fight against the McLaren MCL39.

From the perspective of McLaren’s Andrea Stella and Zak Brown, another strong weekend like in Mexico should be enough to substantially lower Verstappen’s chances – thus giving Norris and Piastri more breathing space.