McLaren boss Zak Brown has admitted it “will be a challenge at times” managing the staff’s drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri as they each goal the Drivers’ Championship in 2025.
Norris claimed victory in Sunday’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to safe the Constructors’ Championship for McLaren for the primary time since 1998.
Having led the staff to that triumph, chief government Brown is now setting his sights on including the Drivers’ Championship to the trophy cupboard.
He advised Sky Sports activities Information: “I think you want the clean sleep. Why not be greedy? And say, ‘I want the drivers’ one too and the constructors’ too.’
“That is the objective going into subsequent yr. Lando had eight poles, unbelievable. Oscar had a unbelievable season, so I feel now we have two drivers that may compete for the championship.
“And I am positive all of the women and men right here will give them each one other race automotive that is able to profitable races and combating for the championship.
“The great news is our season is just going to roll on from Abu Dhabi. We have a tremendous amount of momentum, I’ve got a lot of confidence in the racing team and everyone here at the McLaren Technology Centre. So we’ll do a little more celebrating this week and then it’s full steam ahead to 2025.”
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Speaking on the F1 Podcast, Nico Rosberg thinks Lando Norris is the favorite for the 2025 F1 Drivers’ Championship.
Norris closed to inside hanging distance of eventual world champion Max Verstappen through the second half of the 2024 season however McLaren had been hesitant to prioritise the Brit’s hope, insisting that their drivers maintain equal standing inside the staff.
Norris, who shall be coming into his seventh season with the staff, has clearly outperformed Piastri through the Australian’s first two campaigns in F1 however McLaren see each drivers as future world champions.
After crossing the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi, Norris declared that “next year is my year”, whereas Piastri mentioned after the race that his goal for 2025 would even be the drivers’ title.
Requested concerning the potential challenges of managing the state of affairs, Brown mentioned: “Solely one in every of them can end first in any weekend.
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Zak Brown praises Lando Norris’ drive to assert the Constructors’ Championship for McLaren and the vital half performed by Andrea Stella.
“They’re great team-mates, they’re great team players – I think we saw that come through again in Qatar when we told Lando that he didn’t need to swap positions, and he insisted that he owed his team-mate one.
“So these are the kind of team-mates they’re. In fact, come showtime they each need to win, however they race one another cleanly.
“I’m sure it will be a challenge at times, but we’ll just take it one race at a time. What we do is treat everyone fairly, equally, transparently, so there’s no surprises.
“So, we’ll simply see how the season unfolds and hopefully now we have the problem of two drivers combating for a similar Drivers’ Championship on the final race of the yr.
“I’m sure that will be nerve-wracking, but they race each other cleanly. I think that’s what’s most important, they race each other hard. And they want to win on track – they don’t want to be gifted anything.”
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