McLaren boss Zac Brown says Australian politicians who suggested the team favored Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri this season were “ignorant and uneducated”.
Norris heads into this weekend’s title decider in Abu Dhabi with a 12-point lead over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and a 16-point lead over McLaren teammate Piastri.
McLaren’s tactical error at last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix cost Piastri any chance of victory and left him with a slim chance of winning his first title, but the incident has encouraged Australian supporters who believe the team has backed Norris at various points this year.
Allegations of bias against McLaren came to the fore on Monday when Senator Matt Canavan raised the issue in the Australian Senate Local, Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee and asked: “What is McLaren’s bias against Oscar Piastri and depriving him of the world championship title?”
Australian senator Matt Canavan attracted attention for his comments about McLaren.
Asked about the comments in Abu Dhabi on Friday, Brawn told Sky Sports F1: “We did our best. Even Oscar himself said how fair and impartial (we) were.”
“We all make mistakes, but Oscar was our biggest advocate. He never felt like anything was wrong.
“I saw what the senator said. Obviously he’s very ignorant and uneducated about our sport.”
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Karun Chandhok analyzes on Skypad whether McLaren’s decision not to pit Oscar Piastri under the safety car on lap seven cost them victory at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Piastri was in the lead in Qatar after taking pole position, but an early safety car brought almost the entire field to a halt. McLaren made the decision to sacrifice both Piastri and Norris, who was running third, by keeping them on track.
McLaren said the decision was primarily based on concerns that the driver could have been caught in traffic had the car behind him not pitted.
Team principal Andrea Stella also admitted that another factor in the decision was concerns about how much time Norris would lose if he had to wait behind Piastri for a double-stack pit stop.
Some of Piastri’s supporters seem to believe that the main reason McLaren did not stop both cars was to avoid a significant delay for Norris.
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Craig Slater explains what Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris need to do to win the title in Abu Dhabi.
Mr Brown added: “That’s the great thing about the sport – people are so supportive of their country’s heroes, so it’s not surprising to see people waving the flag for the drivers.”
“The most important thing for us is that the team knows that.
“And there are a lot of uneducated people and their opinions out there, and I’ve spent all day trying to correct them. So that’s the way it is.”
“I’m not going to change the way I race.”
McLaren’s approach to racing has been under intense scrutiny all season, especially given that the drivers appeared to be in a two-horse title race for much of the period before Verstappen rejoined the fray.
While acknowledging there is always room for evolution, Brown insists McLaren has no plans to change its fundamental approach.
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Highlights of two practice sessions for the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
He said: “Even if we win, on Monday we talk about what we could have done differently or what we could have done better.
“So we are constantly evolving as a racing team, but the fundamentals remain the same: we have two drivers who give us an equal chance to win.”
“Looking back, have we learned a lot? I remember when we finished first and second in Spain, there were about eight close calls in the debriefing on Monday that we could have done better. I think that’s the nature of an F1 team, you always evaluate and think, ‘What could we have done differently, what could we have done better?’
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Zac Brown admitted during the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi that McLaren will carry out team orders “if it’s clear that one side has a chance and the other doesn’t”.
“In sports, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Of course, when you make a mistake, you wish you hadn’t made it, but that’s not realistic. I’ve yet to see anyone or a team in any sport have a perfect season.
“So we’re no different than that. But fundamentally, the way we race, it doesn’t change.”
Sky Sports F1 Abu Dhabi GP Schedule
Saturday, December 6th
10:15am: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Practice 3 (Session starts at 10:30am)*
12:10pm: F2 Sprint Race*
1:15pm: Abu Dhabi GP qualifying build-up*
2pm: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Qualifying*
4pm: Ted’s Qualification Notes*
Sunday, December 7th
9:10am: F2 Feature Race
11am: Grand Prix Sunday: Abu Dhabi GP Build-up*
1pm: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix*
3pm: Checkered flag: Abu Dhabi GP reaction*
4pm: Ted’s Notes
*Also held at Sky Sports Main Event
The 2025 F1 season will begin this weekend with the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix being broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with Sunday’s race ending at 1pm (meeting time starts at 11am). Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
