Zak Brown likes one of his McLaren drivers ‘a little more’ than the other, says Gerhard Berger

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Gerhard Berger says it’s ‘nonsense’ to suggest that Zak Brown is giving preferential treatment to Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri. The two McLaren drivers have been battling for the title this year.

Piastri has led the championship for most of the season, but his late slump, combined with Norris raising his game, has changed the picture drastically. Now the Briton is 24 points clear with just three rounds remaining.

In the end, the three points Piastri lost when returning to second place to Norris at the Italian GP may seem insignificant. But this, combined with the team’s refusal to swap the cars after first-corner contact in Singapore, has fuelled allegations of internal bias.

Some in the F1 paddock think McLaren have favoured Norris this year, whether accidentally or otherwise. But both Piastri and the team maintain that they are treated equally.

Gerhard Berger adamant both McLaren drivers are treated equally

Speaking to sport.de, Berger pointed out that Brown ‘would be shooting himself in the foot’ by backing Norris over Piastri. Max Verstappen re-entered the title picture after the summer break with a run of three wins in four races, and has scored a podium in the last seven.

Norris has raced for McLaren since 2019, and his relationship with Brown dates back 10 years. On that basis, the CEO might like him ‘a little more’.

But Berger maintains that Brown’s personal affinity with Norris won’t influence his managerial decisions, and says Piastri should be able to put it aside.

“That’s nonsense to me,” he said in response to claims that McLaren are backing Norris. “Technically and in terms of the team, both are treated equally.

“Perhaps Zak Brown likes Norris a little more, which naturally has a mental impact on the second driver, but a professional who earns that much money has to be able to handle that pressure.

“And Zak Brown would be shooting himself in the foot. If Norris retires, he needs Piastri to be successful; otherwise, Verstappen will win the championship.”

It should be noted that McLaren fought an expensive legal battle with Alpine to sign Piastri in 2023 before paying Daniel Ricciardo a huge sum to vacate his seat.

Norris’ long-term contribution to McLaren’s resurgence has been greater, but Piastri was integral to their first constructors’ triumph since 1998 last year.

Why F1 title fight turnaround comes as no surprise to McLaren

McLaren thought Norris was underperforming earlier in the year, so they aren’t necessarily surprised to see him consistently beating Piastri now that he has regained top form.

And as the team pointed out to ESPN’s Nate Saunders, Norris tends to finish seasons stronger. Combining 2023 and 2024, he outscored Piastri 185-95 over the last six rounds.

“If you look back at the two years they’ve been teammates together – something McLaren pointed out to me in Brazil – Lando has finished the year stronger both seasons,” Saunders said on the Unlapped podcast.

“Last year, Piastri was playing the team game a bit more, but in terms of pure race pace, I think Norris knew in the back of his mind, ‘I’ve always been stronger [at these circuits].”