Zak Brown rejects team orders despite Max Verstappen threat to McLaren

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has confirmed that the Woking outfit will not change its approach to managing Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the drivers' championship despite the threat of four-time champion Max Verstappen. 

The Dutchman heads to the Singapore Grand Prix after back-to-back wins in Italy and Azerbaijan. This, compounded by a seventh-place finish for Norris and a retirement after a crash for Piastri in Baku, has placed Verstappen 44 points behind Norris in the drivers' standings and 69 points behind current leader Piastri with seven races remaining.

Up to this point, McLaren has enjoyed a dominant season. The team has the opportunity to clinch the constructors' championship in Singapore as it currently sits 333 points ahead of Mercedes in second.

The team has opted not to choose a number one driver and has instead let Piastri and Norris fight it out for the championship, something Brown has confirmed they will continue to do. While this approach has led to some great on-track battles, it does also mean that the two team-mates are at risk from Verstappen.

"I think you've got to pay attention to Max," Brown told Bloomberg. "We've got to keep doing what we're doing. The constructors' is looking very good; we had a chance to wrap it up in Baku, but let's not talk about Baku. Hopefully, we can get the job done in Singapore.

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images

"And what we want to do is we want our two drivers, and Max, but we'd like to kind of get him out of there, to fight for the championship and just give them equal opportunity, equal equipment, which is what we're doing and may the best man win. That's what we wanna do.

"We'd like to not play a role if at all possible, but you get into, you know, Lando had a mechanical issue and things can happen in safety cars and things of that nature, but I think our goal is to just set Lando and Oscar up to be competing for the championship down to Abu Dhabi and may the best driver win."

The 18th round of the 2025 season, the Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, is set for 3-5 October.