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McLaren CEO Zak Brown had high praise for Oscar Piastri after he claimed the championship lead at Jeddah, suggesting that he has more potential to grow stronger as the season progresses. Brown also expressed his excitement in the Australian's eventual clash with Lando Norris, with the two drivers taking the top two spots in the standings.
Piastri logged his third win of the season in Saudi Arabia and leads the Drivers' championship by 10 points. After finishing the 2024 season two spots adrift of Norris, the 24-year-old has shown incredible pace to warrant the top spot.
On the other hand, Norris saw his championship lead threatened after crashing out of Q3 qualifying at Jeddah. Touted to have the best car on the grid, the Briton tried his best to salvage his race on Sunday, but Mercedes' George Russell kept him from clinching second.
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Speaking to F1 TV after the race, Brown talked about the aftermath of Piastri's newfound leadership position.
"I’m here to announce to everyone [that] I think he’s only going to get stronger,” Zak Brown said.
Brown went on to discuss the two teammates possibly facing off in an 'epic battle' on track.
"I think we’ve yet to see them really have an epic battle – I think that day’s coming, I’m looking forward to it. We know it’s more of a when than an if. We have two great Grand Prix drivers racing hard, next to each other the majority of the time – something’s going to happen, but that’s racing, so I’m excited,” he added.
Piastri's lead marks the first time an Australian has topped the championship standings in 15 years. His manager, Mark Webber, was the last driver to achieve the feat.
Zak Brown disagrees with Christian Horner on Max Verstappen's penalty in Saudi Arabia
Zak Brown and Red Bull boss Christian Horner shared contrasting takes about Max Verstappen's five-second penalty in Saudi Arabia. On the opening lap, the reigning champion went off-track to maintain his lead against a charging Oscar Piastri. He didn't relinquish his position thereafter and attracted a five-second penalty for doing so.
Speaking to the media post-race, Brown backed the penalty.
"Frankly it wasn’t any sort of divebomb, he clearly had the lead. He was up alongside, he got a better start. I think the penalty was appropriate. Whether we should have just swapped [positions] versus the time [being given], that’s up to the stewards to decide what they feel is appropriate," Zak Brown said.
Piastri took the lead when Verstappen served the penalty during his first pit stop. This resulted in a 2.8-second victory over the Dutch driver. In his part, Verstappen refused to comment on the issue and slammed F1 for not allowing him to express his views.
