Oscar Piastri fans will love what Zak Brown said off-mic after Lando Norris’ Hungarian GP win

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Oscar Piastri refuses to allow Lando Norris to have it easy. He crossed the line just seven-tenths behind his McLaren teammate at last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

Piastri was in hot pursuit of race leader Norris at the season opener in Australia before both drivers went off track during a downpour, with the home favourite coming off worse. He eventually finished ninth as his teammate took victory.

In Austria, Norris blitzed the field in qualifying, but had to resist multiple attacks from Piastri during the race. And at the Hungaroring, Piastri used his fresher tyres (on a two-stop strategy) to rapidly reel in the Englishman before running out of laps.

Piastri may feel that a slender nine-point lead doesn’t reflect the world-class consistency of his performances this year. But in the battles to come, he might need to take even more risks.

Zak Brown triumphantly declared ‘we let them race’ after Oscar Piastri chased down Lando Norris

During the Austrian GP, Piastri nearly hit Norris when he attempted a lunge at turn four. That prompted a warning on the radio from McLaren, with engineer Tom Stallard telling him it was too risky.

And yet, there was a repeat in Hungary as Piastri tried to catch Norris off guard from a long way back into the first corner. He once again locked his front brake and narrowly avoided contact.

But if anything, McLaren CEO Zak Brown was thrilled by the battle. According to The Athletic’s Luke Smith, he walked into the team’s hospitality building after the race and said: “Well, that wasn’t boring! We let them race, in case you didn’t notice!”

It’s clear that Brown is committed to giving his drivers freedom, even after the collision in Canada and a couple of near-misses since. While Stallard again reminded Piastri of McLaren’s racing rules, there was no sign of the boss making such stern remarks.

How McLaren drivers responded when Zak Brown asked if they’d ever annoyed one another

Norris suspects that he released the brakes when he saw Piastri coming in his mirrors. He’s clearly prepared for Piastri to be aggressive.

The third-year driver is currently sitting on six penalty points, though he’s only received two this year – and even then, they were caused by a safety-car infringement rather than an ill-judged move.

Brown asked Piastri and Norris whether they’d ever been annoyed with their teammate, and both replied ‘no’. That, for the American, was a glowing endorsement of the papaya rules.

The McLaren title battle is likely to go to the wire, so those rules will be put to the ultimate test. If a major incident or fallout is avoided, then it ranks as one of the great managerial achievements in the sport’s recent history.