Zak Brown “believes” Oscar Piastri will become Formula One world champion with McLaren despite losing the 2025 title to teammate Lando Norris at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
McLaren drivers have been fighting for a maiden title all year, with Norris sealing the title by finishing third, 13 points ahead of Piastri and two ahead of runner-up Max Verstappen.
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The battle also illustrates the contrasting approaches of the two teams: Verstappen is clearly Red Bull’s number one driver, while McLaren remains evenly divided between the two teams.
So when Brown was asked about Norris’ development since joining the McLaren Academy as a 17-year-old in 2017, he made sure to mention the 24-year-old, who joins from Alpine in 2023.
“Oscar will be a world champion,” the McLaren CEO said. “I firmly believe he will become world champion driving McLaren. Although we got him late in his career, we still took a risk on both drivers. They drove F1 cars twice, both with McLaren.
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“It’s well worth it for a big team to take a risk on a young driver. To be able to have two drivers who are number one, against all odds, against the noise for a long time that it was impossible to do what we did, which is to have two fantastic racers who have won seven races each, who really enjoy racing each other and it’s been a pleasure to work together. There’s never been a weird exchange between them.
“They were all a bit grumpy with Andrea. [Stella, team principal] I do that sometimes, but I think it’s fine. We push each other hard and that’s an achievement. I’m very proud and look forward to doing it again. “
Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Andrea Stella, McLaren, Zac Brown, McLaren
Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Andrea Stella, McLaren, Zac Brown, McLaren
Piastri was even in control for most of the year, leading from round five to 19 and leading Norris by as much as 34 points after the Dutch Grand Prix in August.
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But a late-season failure saw Piastri crash in Baku and fall off the pace in places like Singapore and Mexico, failing to win any of the final nine races, leaving Norris with the franchise.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella still saw enough from Piastri to respond to Brown’s thoughts on him becoming world champion, but even better in the process.
“We could actually have had two titles this year,” Stella told Sky Sports. “The gap between the two is so small, I said after [Abu Dhabi] I think I’m qualified [the gap] In 30 milliseconds, this is the entire story of a season.
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“30 milliseconds in qualifying, it’s always so close on the track and very close on the first lap. As you said, from that point of view, there are some tense situations but always resolved in the best way.
“Oscar is a well-deserved champion and he is a well-deserved champion [in his] The third season of Formula 1. He was a quick learner and in a few races he struggled a bit on the famously low-grip track.
“He learned what to do very quickly. He immediately became competitive again. His trajectory has been phenomenal and there’s no doubt we’ll have multiple world championships at Oscars in the future.”
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Also read:
Lando Norris proud to ‘win F1 title my way’ without being pushy
Lando Norris’ relationship with Oscar Piastri won’t change: ‘He won’t become Superman’
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