Helmut Marko has heard about Zak Brown plan that could ‘encourage’ Oscar Piastri to ‘fight back’

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McLaren star Oscar Piastri led the 2025 F1 drivers’ championship for 188 days and 15 rounds, yet he now trails teammate Lando Norris by one point with four rounds to go.

Piastri had led the drivers’ standings since he won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix back in April during the fifth round of this year’s scheduled 24. But Norris commandingly won the Mexico City Grand Prix from pole position last time out to usurp Piastri, who only earned a P5 finish.

Fifth place at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, and a whopping 42.065 seconds adrift of Norris, also ensured that Piastri continued his worst run of results this term. The 24-year-old failed to finish on the podium in the past four Grands Prix after taking 14 in the first 16 races.

A grey cloud has followed ever since McLaren told Piastri to give Norris back P2 in the Italian Grand Prix. Piastri crashed in Azerbaijan, could not get over contact with Norris in Singapore, crashed into his teammate in the COTA Sprint and struggled on Mexico City’s low-grip track.

Helmut Marko thinks McLaren’s refusal to have a No1 driver can ‘encourage’ Oscar Piastri

Piastri’s run of woe has even seen Norris and Red Bull racer Max Verstappen outscore him in each of the past five rounds. But Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko thinks McLaren CEO Zak Brown refusing to pick a No1 driver might “encourage” Piastri to make a comeback.

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Marko told Krone: “As far as I understand, McLaren want to give both drivers free rein until the end. Perhaps that will encourage Piastri to fight back.”

Brown insists that McLaren will continue to treat Piastri and Norris equally even if his team’s stance ultimately allows Verstappen to swoop in and win the 2025 F1 drivers’ title. He would prefer to lose the title than force Piastri or Norris to be a No2 when either can lift the crown.

Oscar Piastri must utilise McLaren’s equal treatment if he wants to win the 2025 F1 title

McLaren CEO Brown and team principal Andrea Stella have made it clear all throughout the 2025 F1 season that Piastri and Norris would have a fair chance to win the drivers’ title. The pair are both looking to win the F1 drivers’ championship for the first time in their careers.

But while it was often fine for McLaren to oppose having a clear No1 driver while the MCL39 was clearly the best car on the grid, Red Bull’s recent floor and front wing updates made the RB21 in Verstappen’s hands more than a match for Piastri and Norris in the past five rounds.

Verstappen has won three of the past five Grands Prix and one F1 Sprint, to turn what was a 104-point deficit to Piastri atop the standings into a 36-point gap to new leader Norris. Now, Piastri must utilise McLaren’s refusal to choose a No1 driver to bounce back in the title race.