Oscar Piastri plays down Zak Brown villain narrative despite ‘tough moments’ at McLaren
· Yahoo Sports
Oscar Piastri has pushed back against the idea that Zak Brown was seen as a villain during the 2025 F1 title race, even though there were some tough stretches at McLaren.
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Last year marked the first time Piastri found himself in real contention for the drivers’ championship. He held onto first place in the standings for longer than anyone else, spending 189 days at the top between rounds five and 20 of the season.
But things didn’t hold together down the stretch. Even though he led teammate Lando Norris by 34 points after 15 rounds, and had Max Verstappen trailing him by over a hundred, Piastri couldn’t close out what had started so strongly.
One flashpoint came when McLaren asked Piastri to return second place to Norris at Monza, adding to other incidents where team orders appeared to favour Norris. It got to a point where even Australian senator Matt Canavan brought up potential bias during a Senate Rural session.
Oscar Piastri says his relationship with McLaren CEO Zak Brown has only grown stronger
Despite claims that McLaren showed favouritism towards Norris, Piastri has been quick to dismiss any notion that Brown was seen as a villain. Speaking ahead of the 2026 F1 season opener in Melbourne, the Australian made it clear that there were no issues between him and Brown.
He even went as far as to say their relationship has “only gotten stronger” over time, despite a few difficult patches during the 2025 title race. Norris eventually secured the championship by just two points ahead of Verstappen, with Piastri finishing 13 points back in third.
“My relationship with Zak is very good,” Piastri said, via quotes by Auto Action. “And you know, I think it’s gotten stronger the longer we’ve known each other, as well.
“He’s certainly good fun and he’s just good to have around you. But no, the relationship between Zak and I is good.”
Piastri added: “Obviously we had some tough moments through last year, but I think our relationship has only gotten stronger.”
McLaren faced allegations of favouritism over Lando Norris throughout 2025
Throughout the 2025 F1 season, McLaren faced regular criticism for appearing to favour Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri. CEO Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella were clear about their plan to let both drivers compete for the championship, but some team decisions seemed to lean towards Norris.
Given Norris’s long-standing ties to McLaren, it wouldn’t have been surprising if some within the team naturally leaned towards supporting him. The British driver had been with the organisation since his junior days and made his F1 debut with them in 2019, while Piastri only joined in 2023.
The controversy picked up pace at Silverstone when McLaren declined Piastri’s request to switch positions following a penalty that handed Norris the lead. The penalty, related to a safety car restart incident during Norris’ home race, left Piastri feeling hard done by.
Claims of bias didn’t subside when McLaren put Norris on a one-stop strategy at the Hungarian Grand Prix while Piastri ran two stops. That decision allowed Norris to take the lead late in the race. Monza was another flashpoint later in the year.
Piastri was under the impression that no team orders would be issued after he inherited track position following a pit stop sequence gone wrong for Norris. But late in the race, he was instructed to return second place after an on-track collision between them—a call that added fuel to suspicions of favouritism.
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