A clash between Norris and Piastri? 'Need to tackle it right away'

For Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the 2023 season could be compared to the honeymoon of a marriage: everything was still fun and enjoyable, every podium celebrated together. But Formula 1 history has shown that two ambitious teammates, who are also very much alike, can clash at some point - on the track. Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren, is aware that such a situation could arise with his driver duo sooner or later, but will take harsh action immediately.

The American - who hopes to gain on Red Bull Racing with McLaren in '24 - believes his team has always been good at maintaining relationships with drivers. "I think driver management is one of our strengths" Brown said in Speedcafe's podcast. "Of course, they want to beat each other. Right now they know pushing each other is going to push the team forward."

Brown sees neat Norris and Piastri

Still, the McLaren boss realises that there will come a time somewhere when Norris and Piastri do clash. He says his men would "hopefully sooner rather than later", but he expects the Briton and Australian to remain decent even in that situation; as he believes they were throughout last season. Brown praises them as professionals, who, with a long career ahead of them, do not want to make stupid mistakes.

"If it does happen, you tackle it right away." Brown continued. "You don't let it bubble up. I think when we've seen driver issues before, not at McLaren recently, but just down the grid, you see these troubles bubbling up. You kind of question why the teams don't step in earlier. It's kind of like watching two dogs starting to growl at each other on the playground. You know a fight' is about to happen. But they sit there and just watch."