Sky F1's Naomi Schiff claims McLaren secret F1 'agreement' set to have championship impact

Norris, Piastri, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

McLaren

Secret McLaren F1 'agreement' set to have major championship impact

McLaren's driver duo could prove to be a problem for the team

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 12 April 2025 13:59

Sky Sports F1’s Naomi Schiff has suggested that there may be a secret ‘agreement’ at McLaren that could impact the championship fight.

McLaren may have the quickest car in 2025, but their evenly matched driver lineup of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri could become a problem if they keep taking points off each other.

Despite this problem, their team boss Zak Brown insists that they are free to race, but Schiff believes that there may be a secret understanding at the team to not let them race if it jeopardises them in the title fight.

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“Unfortunately for Oscar, he’s going to need to outqualify Lando,” she said on the F1 Show at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

“From what it seems, they must have some sort of agreement that after x amount of laps, or x amount of turns, whoever’s ahead stays there unless there’s any reason to start racing each other.

“That’s their biggest concern – they’ve got two drivers that are so competitive that they’re not going to let them race each other.”

Will McLaren let their drivers race?

McLaren were confronted with the dilemma of letting their drivers race in Melbourne, where a faster Piastri was told to hold off on fighting Norris who was in the lead of the grand prix.

Later in the race, Piastri would spin in the wet and tumble down the order, where he finished P9 compared to a victory for his team-mate.

Despite McLaren’s pace advantage, Norris is only a point ahead of Max Verstappen in the drivers’ standings, who showed in Japan that he was capable of producing a race victory in an inferior car.

Piastri on the other hand remains 13 points off his team-mate and third in the standings, but if the two McLaren drivers continue to steal points off one another it could play into Verstappen's hands.

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McLaren Lando Norris Oscar Piastri Zak Brown Bahrain Grand Prix Naomi Schiff