McLaren CEO Zak Brown has said the team would rather lose the drivers’ championship to Max Verstappen than support Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri in the title race.
McLaren has made it clear throughout the year that its drivers are free to race, but Norris and Piastri have been in close competition to take points from each other, with Verstappen closing the gap from 104 points to 36 with four races remaining.
Norris has a one-point lead over Piastri heading into this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with both drivers aiming for their first world championship.
But Brown was referring to the 2007 F1 season, when McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso narrowly lost the drivers’ championship to Kimi Raikkonen, and the team fielded no drivers.
“We know a lot about 2007,” he said on the “Beyond the Grid” podcast. “Two drivers were tied in points and one was in the lead. But there are two drivers who want to win the world championship. We’re playing offense, not defense.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Lando Norris talks about his win at the Mexico City Grand Prix, taking the F1 title from McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. He also talks about Red Bull’s chances of winning the World Championship.
“I’d rather say to one of the drivers who is now one point behind me, ‘I know you have dreams of winning the World Championship, but we flipped a coin and you don’t deserve to achieve it this year,’ and say, ‘We did the best we could with the drivers tied for points, and they beat us by one point.'” Forget it!
“That’s not the way we race. If 2007 were to happen again, I’d prefer that outcome over any other outcome against the favorites, but we won’t do that.”
What happened in 2007?
The 2007 season was one of the most dramatic in F1 history, with Hamilton in his rookie season surprisingly matching up with two-time world champion and McLaren teammate Alonso.
Although the two drivers did not collide, the team split and caused further tensions when Alonso clashed with team principal Ron Dennis over off-track issues, including the Spygate scandal in which McLaren employees obtained information about Ferrari cars.
We expected Alonso to outperform Hamilton, but the British driver’s nine consecutive podiums since the start of the season have put him at the top of the championship.
With two rounds remaining, Hamilton held a 12-point lead over Alonso and 17 points over Raikkonen. Back then, the points system was different and you only needed 10 points to win.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz races around Monza with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso
However, in the penultimate race in China, when Raikkonen won, Hamilton crashed his car into the gravel trap at the pit entrance and retired.
Nevertheless, if Raikkonen won the race, it was enough for Hamilton to finish in the top five. Hamilton’s poor start left him susceptible to teammate Alonso, and the two raced hard on the opening laps, with Hamilton falling back to eighth place.
He lost more than 30 minutes due to gearbox issues and could only recover to seventh place, but made his way back through the field.
Raikkonen won the race and Alonso remained in third place, making the Finn world champion and neither McLaren winning the title.
Kimi Raikkonen returned to the 2007 Drivers’ Championship with a one-point lead over both McLaren drivers.
Will Brown keep his promise?
David Croft of Sky Sports F1:
“McLaren has already won the constructors’ championship, which pays prize money, so we don’t want to make a decision that upsets one of us in the short term and undermine the healthy and harmonious working relationship between our two drivers that we want to maintain in the long term.
“People disagree with this and say, ‘We’re going to prioritize whoever has the best chance of winning, so we’re going to have the best chance of winning. So it’s all about the long term for McLaren. I think Max is true to his word.’
Sky Sports F1 Sao Paulo GP Schedule
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
A look back at some of the most dramatic moments that happened at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Friday, November 7th
2:00pm: São Paulo GP Practice (Session starts at 2:30pm)*
4:30pm: Team representative press conference
6pm: São Paulo GP Sprint Qualifying (session starts at 6:30pm)*
Saturday, November 8th
1pm: Sao Paulo GP Sprint Build-up
2pm: São Paulo GP Sprint*
3:30pm: Ted’s Sprint Notebook
5pm: Sao Paulo GP qualifying build-up
6pm: Sao Paulo GP Qualifying
8pm: Ted’s Qualification Notebook
Sunday, November 9th
3:30pm: Sunday’s Grand Prix: Sao Paulo GP Build-up
5pm: Sao Paulo Grand Prix
7pm: Checkered flag: São Paulo GP reaction
8pm: Ted’s Notes
*Also held at Sky Sports Main Event
F1’s thrilling title race continues in Brazil, with the São Paulo Grand Prix sprint weekend being broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 from this Friday. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
