Norris And Piastri 'will Not Properly Fall Out'

McLaren Formula 1 leader Zak Brown says Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will "not decently autumn out" arsenic their title conflict comes to a head.

Brown, McLaren Racing's main executive officer, said he expects nan brace to "swap overgarment again astatine immoderate point" aft Norris ran into nan backmost of Piastri successful Canada successful June.

But he added: "I don't deliberation they'll decently autumn retired because of nan communication, spot and respect we each have, and they person for each other.

"We're very fortunate to person nan 2 personalities that we have. We emotion nan challenge. I'm looking guardant to them racing each other."

Norris trim Piastri's lead to 9 points pinch triumph successful past weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, nan past title earlier F1 heads into its summertime break.

Piastri has won six races to Norris' 5 this season, and they person won 11 of nan 14 races truthful acold betwixt them.

Racing resumes astatine nan Dutch Grand Prix connected 29-31 August and Brown says he expects their conflict to stay fair.

"I've said to some of them individually, astatine windows of opportunity, has your team-mate ever done thing to annoy you? 'Never'. And that's what they some said," Brown added.

"So there's competitiveness brewing. We're not emotion immoderate tension. As nan title builds I'm judge that hostility will grow, but for illustration Montreal - I'm gladsome we sewage it retired of nan way, because it was a non-event, Lando owned it, Oscar understood, it was a mistake."

Brown said that though he expects nan 2 drivers to extremity up colliding again, he was "very assured it won't beryllium deliberate".

He added: "I'm affirmative they're ne'er going to tally each different disconnected nan track, and that's wherever you get into bad blood."

And he said that McLaren would woody pinch immoderate hostility that evolves successful nan aforesaid measurement they person managed nan narration betwixt nan drivers truthful far.

"If thing bubbles up, we'll woody pinch it," he said. "And really we operate, which is [in] an open, transparent, woody pinch it correct distant [manner].

"It seems for illustration from nan extracurricular looking in, erstwhile you've seen battles betwixt different team-mates, you've benignant of seen it brewing, and you benignant of spell for illustration 'have they jumped connected that, aliases are they conscionable benignant of letting it build up?'

"We'll return nan aerial retired of nan balloon correct away, if we consciousness for illustration anything's bubbling up, but we've not seen immoderate of it."

Brown said it was captious for McLaren for nan 2 to stay connected bully position because they some person semipermanent contracts.

"They're going to beryllium racing against each different for a agelong clip successful nan aforesaid team," he said, "so it's important that narration continues to grow, because nan relationship's not conscionable astir this year, but it bleeds into adjacent year, and they're going to beryllium together for a agelong time".

Brown believes Red Bull's Max Verstappen is still successful pinch an extracurricular chance of nan title, moreover though nan Dutchman is 97 points down Piastri.

But he said that if it comes to a constituent wherever nan title is intelligibly betwixt conscionable nan 2 McLaren drivers, he and squad main Andrea Stella scheme to talk pinch Norris and Piastri really to grip nan inevitable business wherever 1 wins nan title and nan different loses it.

Brown said: "They some tin smell nan championship, and only 1 tin triumph it, truthful I'm judge it'll beryllium difficult connected nan 1 that doesn't triumph nan championship, assuming nan different 1 does.

"We'll conscionable beryllium down and really person a conversation, and go: 'Right, 1 of you is going to win, and it's going to beryllium nan champion time of your life, 1 of you is going to lose, and you're going to beryllium [devastated], really do you want america to grip that, really do you want america to act?

"We'll beryllium very considerate astir that approach, because that's nan measurement we think, it comes backmost to reasoning astir our people."

Brown rejected arsenic "not accurate" what he called "the narrative" astir Norris that he was mentally much vulnerable than Piastri.

"Lando's open, he benignant of wears his emotions connected his sleeve, truthful to speak," Brown said. "Everyone's different, but he's successful a awesome place. I've ne'er seen him successful a amended place. He's doing an awesome job."

He compared nan existent commentary astir Norris to a erstwhile one, successful which immoderate observers claimed he was not tin of winning from rod position - aft a fistful of victories slipped distant past year.

Brown said: "The, he can't triumph from rod stat, now that he's won four, aliases 5 races, from pole, no-one seems to beryllium talking astir that."