F1: McLaren boss would rather lose title than favour one driver

Brown said he’d rather see Red Bull’s Max Verstappen win the championship than ‘flip a coin’ and tell either Piastri or Norris they can’t win the title.

The 54-year-old American was joined by his team principal, Stella, on the Beyond The Grid podcast. The pair offered insight into not choosing a number one driver to curtail four-time world champion Verstappen.

Norris currently leads Piastri by one point, with the Red Bull driver a further 35 points adrift of the Australian. This weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix is one of four races left in the season, and the pressure is mounting on the McLaren drivers who are aiming to win their maiden world title.

Brown said, “The best way to win the Drivers’ Championship is to have two drivers going for the Drivers’ Championship.”

McLaren was in a similar situation close to 20 years ago when Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were battling for the championship. The Woking-based team failed to back one driver, and the pair narrowly lost out to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen in the drivers’ championship.

“We’re well aware of 2007. Two drivers tied on points, one gets in the front. But we’ve got two drivers who want to win the world championship. We’re playing offence; we’re not playing defence,” Brown told Beyond The Grid.

Norris and Verstappen are the in-form drivers, with the Briton winning last time out in Mexico City. The Dutch Driver has won three out of the last five races and was victorious in Brazil last year.

Whatever the outcomes are in the next four races, it’s clear that McLaren won’t choose a favourite between their drivers. It’s simply not in the spirit of the team’s values.