McLaren boss Zak Brown says there are no plans to crown Oscar Piastri as the team's number 1 driver, even as the Australian's form begins to clearly eclipse that of Lando Norris.
Norris started the 2025 season as the title favourite and even led the standings early on. But it's Piastri who now has the momentum — and pole position for Imola — while Norris finds himself outside the top three.
"If I had the answer, I would give it," Norris admitted to Sky Deutschland when asked about his recent struggles with what has otherwise been a dominant McLaren package.
Team principal Andrea Stella suggested that Norris is still extracting plenty from the car but may be overthinking behind the wheel.
"He's getting all the feedback he needs from the car," Stella said. "He's just always a bit on alert, trying to listen to the car.
"But if you focus too much on that, you lose a few milliseconds here and there."
While the title race is far from over for Norris, reigning world champion Max Verstappen weighed in with some supportive words — but acknowledged that Piastri may be the bigger threat now.
"Honestly, I think both of them are very good," Verstappen told The Telegraph. "Lando, I think, has the pace. It just hasn't really come out yet over a sustained period of time.
"But I think it's still going to be a tight championship for them."
When reminded that he himself is ahead of Norris on the Imola grid, Verstappen almost gave away his current assessment of the pecking order.
"I don't think he..." he started, before correcting: "Oscar is ahead of me."
Verstappen's Red Bull, meanwhile, appears somewhat improved thanks to new upgrades.
"Absolutely yes," he confirmed when asked if the car felt better than ever in Saturday qualifying. "Everyone knows that these races are crucial. Everyone wants to move forward with these updates.
"I just have to apply controlled pressure. McLaren is still the big favourite."
But with McLaren allowing both drivers to fight freely, the risk is that the internal battle could play into Verstappen's hands — opening the door to a fifth straight world title.
At Imola, a journalist from Bild tested the patience of McLaren CEO Zak Brown with a familiar question — whether it's time to back Piastri as the team's main contender.
"Oh no, that question doesn't bother me at all," Brown replied with a smile.
"But maybe some people are annoyed by the answer because it's always the same.
We have two number 1 drivers. We'll continue to communicate this in the future. No matter where they stand in the drivers' standings, we'll treat them equally.
"Because they're both great," Brown concluded.
