‘Don’t pretend you had better options': F1 boss Zak Brown throws shade at Oscar Piastri

Piastri and Brown at Singapore — Photo: © IMAGO

McLaren

‘Don’t pretend you had better options': Zak Brown throws shade at Oscar Piastri

Zak Brown did not hold back.

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 16 December 2025 21:54

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Zak Brown's speech directed at Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris during a recent McLaren F1 gathering was full of shade as he humbled his two star drivers.

It's safe to say the 2025 F1 season will go down as one of the most stressful for McLaren in recent years, not only having to manage their two drivers fighting it out for the title but also the encroaching threat of Max Verstappen.

Nevertheless, it was Norris who left Abu Dhabi with his first drivers' title, beating Verstappen in the standings by two points as the Brit's team-mate Piastri finished the season in third.

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Since the season finale, Norris and McLaren have been on a victory tour, including a celebration for their new champion at McLaren's Woking base and the FIA prize giving ceremony in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Norris and Piastri humbled by Brown

Now, the team have been celebrating the festive season with a swish Christmas party, during which CEO Brown took the opportunity to roast both of his drivers.

Alongside Piastri and Norris up on stage, Brown jokingly claimed neither driver had better options than joining McLaren, and boldly said: "We took big risks on both of you and don't pretend you had better options. You [Piastri] had f*****g Alpine and you [Norris] had to go faster than Stoffel Vandoorne."

The crowd then burst into laughter and applause at Brown's sass, with both Piastri and Norris taking the dressing down with good humour - albeit if Norris was hugging his drivers' trophy a little tight.

Brown's various jibes from the evening have surfaced in videos via social media, and though Piastri and Norris appeared to take the comments as a joke, fans have fumed over Brown's comments.

Piastri was famously under the employ of Alpine before his F1 debut with the papaya squad in 2023, with the Enstone-based squad rather strangely announcing his signing without...well... Piastri signing anything. This then forced the Aussie to publish his own statement confirming 'he was not' joining the team.

Observing Alpine's tenth place finish in the 2025 constructors' standings, Piastri will be rather glad he didn't remain loyal to the team in the end, and instead put his faith in now back-to-back world champions McLaren.

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F1 McLaren Lando Norris Oscar Piastri Zak Brown