‘Coin toss’: Zak Brown opens up on McLaren championship battle

McLaren boss Zak Brown has spoken out about the ongoing F1 drivers’ championship with a bitter blow to Aussie star Oscar Piastri.

McLaren boss Zak Brown has insisted the team won’t be playing favourites and that the championship race will be a “coin toss” between his two drivers.

Australian Oscar Piastri has had the upper hand on teammate Lando Norris for the majority of the season having won six of the first 13 races.

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The 24-year-old from Melbourne holds a 16-point advantage over his 25-year-old British teammate ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

With McLaren on track to secure their first drivers’ championship since 2008, Brown is leaving the championship door open and refusing to back just one of the two.

Piastri has had the advantage over his teammate for the bulk of the season. (Photo by Mark Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

Norris isn’t going away and the team are refusing to back just one driver. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

“I think Oscar was a little disappointed with qualifying in Belgium. Lando was very happy. I’m sure he’ll be a little bummed that he didn’t win today, but it’s coming off two wins. I think it’s going to be a coin toss every weekend,” he told Sky Sport following the Belgian Grand Prix.

“Oscar is a machine. And what’s impressive is how aggressive he is, and yet he always brings the car home. That’s quite a talent.”

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With four-time world champion Max Verstappen sitting in third place, 81 points behind, Brown isn’t ruling the Red Bull driver out of the equation.

“I think it’s too early. It’s looking good, but Max … there’s a lot of racing left to go. We’ve got a nice gap, but I wouldn’t say we’re there,” he said.

“We’ve all been around this sport too long. To start dancing before you’re in the end zone is a very dangerous thing to do.”

Oscar Piastri (right) overtook Norris (left) as soon as the race got underway to take the lead. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

The Formula 1 grid will descended into Hungary, the place where last season Piastri claimed his maiden victory.

Fast forward 12 months and the rising star has equalled Daniel Ricciardo’s tally of career wins with eight.

But with two drivers in the one garage fighting it out for the right to be crowned the world champion, McLaren could face an ugly fight in the second half of the season.

Team principal Andrea Stella believes that driver ability will decide the world championship rather than team orders.

“We saw in Silverstone that a sporting issue for Oscar during the safety car restart and [the resulting] penalty cost him the race,” he said.

“In Spa, it was always going to be very difficult for Lando to keep the position [from Piastri], starting first at the safety car restart. At the same time, I think Lando didn’t help himself by not having a great gap on the finish line.

“So, I think the execution is what is going to make the main difference.”

The Hungarian Grand Prix will get underway on Sunday, August 3 from 11pm (AEST).

Originally published as ‘Coin toss’: Zak Brown opens up on McLaren championship battle