Zak Brown has been told to make an uncomfortable decision and prioritise Oscar Piastri over Lando Norris for the remainder of the 2025 season. According to six-time Grand Prix winner Riccardo Patrese, the time is right to implement team orders in the McLaren camp. Piastri is now 22 points clear of his team-mate at the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings following a dramatic incident in Montreal last time out.
The duo were scrapping over fourth place in the closing laps of the Canadian Grand Prix when Norris misjudged an attack on the approach to Turn One. He collided with the rear of the No.81, giving himself terminal damage. The championship leader was fortunate to emerge unscathed, but the crash could have ended very differently and allowed rival Max Verstappen to eat into both drivers’ advantages.
After the contact, Norris immediately took responsibility in a move that was later praised by team principal Andrea Stella and McLaren Racing CEO Brown. However, while the 25-year-old’s honesty is refreshing, the crash cast his standing in the team into doubt.
According to Patrese, who finished as the championship runner-up to Williams team-mate Nigel Mansell in 1992, Brown and Stella must consider a change. “I would put Piastri first,” he told Listofsweepstakescasinos.com.
“I think he’s a bit stronger in the head than Norris, and also he has more points than Norris at the moment. The fact that Norris (sic) is in front now, then Zak Brown can make a decision because it happened to me in ‘83.
“I had approximately the same points as Nelson Piquet, but then I crashed in Acque Minerali in Imola, and then we had to fight again with the Renault and the Ferraris.”
Should Brown turn Patrese’s advice into reality, he would risk losing the services of Norris, who is unlikely to accept a number-two driver status. The Brit signed a long-term contract that runs until the end of 2027 and has dedicated his entire F1 career thus far to McLaren.
That said, if Piastri emerges as the main man at McLaren, then Norris will have no choice but to look elsewhere if he is to keep his World Championship dreams alive. Red Bull have been suitors in the past, but Mercedes and Ferrari appear to be closed shops given their settled driver line-ups.