Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, thanks to the current dominance of the MCL39 on the grid, have found themselves in an internal title fight. This is not the first time in Formula 1 history that two teammates have battled for the title, with the prime example being the fierce rivalry between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. However, according to CEO Zak Brown, previous rivalries have always ended in tears. ‘We are going to approach this very differently,’ promises the American.
While most teams on the grid are pulling out all the stops to keep up with McLaren, the British racing team is dealing with a luxury problem. Drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris currently hold first and second place in the drivers’ championship, so which of the two will receive the most support from the team? Although CEO Zak Brown is not revealing anything about this yet, he is certain that McLaren will approach this very differently than teams with internal title fights in the past.
A Different Approach
“What has never happened before, as far as I can remember, is that two drivers in the same team are fighting for the world championship and it doesn’t end in tears,” Brown tells Bloomberg Podcasts. “That’s the reality.” The American also immediately cites some famous examples. “Piquet-Mansell, tears. Rosberg-Hamilton, tears. Senna-Prost, tears. I can’t remember the last time there were no tears, but we are going to approach this very differently.”
The feud between Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell mainly took place between 1986 and 1987 at Williams, with the highlight being when Mansell defeated the Brazilian during the British GP. Piquet won his third title that year, 1987. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were rivals during their time at Mercedes, until the German left the team after his 2016 title. Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were teammates at McLaren for two years. The image of the two McLarens at the edge of the last chicane at Suzuka encapsulates one of the fiercest rivalries in F1 history.
