McLaren US chief Zak Brown on 'sabotaging' Norris and Piastri

McLaren

McLaren US chief Zak Brown on 'sabotaging' Norris and Piastri

Zak Brown's two drivers were involved in a championship battle last year

Originally written by Sam Cook. This version is a translation.

Monday 2 March 2026 19:00

McLaren team principal Zak Brown made a light-hearted remark about “sabotaging” both of his drivers in equal measure after the double disqualification at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, as featured on Drive to Survive.

McLaren faced significant scrutiny during the 2025 campaign over their so-called “papaya rules” approach, choosing not to prioritise one driver over the other and instead allowing both to compete on equal footing for the championship.

That strategy arguably opened the door for four-time champion Max Verstappen to re-enter the title battle, although Lando Norris ultimately secured the championship by a narrow two-point margin.

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Verstappen managed to close the gap significantly at the end of the season by winning the final three grands prix of the year, but his most significant gain on the two McLaren drivers came at the Las Vegas GP.

Both Norris and Piastri were disqualified from the race for excessive wear on their skid blocks, while Verstappen won the race, allowing for a 25-point swing between the Dutchman and the two McLaren drivers.

Off the back of the double disqualification, Brown addressed the crowd, saying: "We’ve never claimed we’re perfect. We try and be perfect."

The McLaren boss then joked: "But we’re fair, we rotate whose car we sabotage weekend to weekend so we do everything totally fair," prompting laughs from the crowd and event host Rick Edwards.

In a piece to the Netflix cameras reflecting on the Vegas GP outcome however, Brown took a more serious approach, saying: "We’ve made a mistake and to do anything to hurt our drivers getting the chance to win the drivers' championship, we felt pretty bad."

Can Norris and McLaren repeat 2025 success?

Whether or not Norris will be having another victory parade at the end of this year will likely depend on how well McLaren deal with the new regulation changes, and whether or not their nearest rivals can usurp them with the rules overhaul.

Mercedes are understood to be the favourites heading into the season, but McLaren have a Mercedes power unit in their MCL40, and this could certainly help them to maintain competitiveness should Mercedes be the team to beat.

Ferrari, however, are also looking strong (if testing is to be believed), with the Maranello-based outfit trying out a number of innovative design quirks.

Their driver Charles Leclerc put in the fastest time of Bahrain pre-season testing on the final day of running at the Bahrain International Circuit, while Lewis Hamilton's lightning fast start turned heads in the paddock.

Then there's Red Bull, who also appear to be shaping up well and know that their star driver Verstappen will likely give them a chance of regular race victories even if they have built an inconsistent car.

McLaren will likely find it tougher going than they did in 2025, where they won 14 of the 24 grands prix.

F1 McLaren Lando Norris Oscar Piastri 2026 regulations Zak Brown