Zak Brown Says Oscar Piastri Is Next in Line for F1 Glory After Lando Norris Title Win

The 2025 Formula 1 season felt like a fever dream for McLaren fans. After years of watching Red Bull run away with everything like they had cheat codes enabled, we finally got a proper title fight.

But while Lando Norris is currently popping champagne and likely still wearing that “LN1 World Champion” hoodie, the mood on the other side of the garage has to be a little different.

Oscar Piastri, the iceman from Down Under, watched his teammate take the glory in a season where, for a solid chunk of time, it looked like he was the one to beat.

But don’t think for a second that the McLaren boss hasn’t noticed. Zak Brown, the CEO of McLaren Racing and the man who loves a good soundbite almost as much as he loves signing sponsors, is already hyping up Piastri for 2026.

1. Brown Bets Big on Oscar’s Resilience

It’s easy to forget that Piastri isn’t just “Lando’s teammate.” For a hot minute between Round 5 and Round 20, he was leading the championship. That’s insane for a guy in only his third year. But F1 is brutal, and the wheels came off during the American leg of the tour. He struggled for grip, Lando surged, and suddenly Oscar was fighting just to stay on the podium. Despite the late-season collapse that saw him fall to third behind Max Verstappen, Brown isn’t worried. In fact, he’s doubling down. Speaking on the Chris Moyles Show, Brown pointed out something crucial that a lot of critics miss: Lando Norris needed seven seasons to get his first title. Oscar is only 24. “Oscar is going to be a world champion,” Brown insisted. He highlighted that Piastri is a “very tough, very focused individual” with very few weak spots. The message from the boss is loud and clear: Watch out for 2026. Brown is convinced that the pain of 2025 is exactly the fuel Piastri needs to come back and wreck the grid next year.

2. The Drama of “Papaya Rules”

We can’t talk about McLaren’s 2025 season without mentioning the absolute chaos that was “Papaya Rules.” If you were screaming at your TV during the Italian Grand Prix while the team fumbled over who should let who pass, you weren’t alone. The implementation of team orders was messy, confusing, and frankly, did Piastri no favors. There were moments, like the botched pitstop fallout in Monza, where Piastri had to play the good soldier and let Norris through. It sparked theories online that the team was heavily biased toward Norris, something Brown has had to deny repeatedly. He claims he loves having “two number one drivers,” which sounds great in a press release but usually results in high blood pressure for the strategists on the pit wall. However, Brown sees this internal friction as a feature, not a bug. He believes the fact that they pushed each other—and occasionally got grumpy with Team Principal Andrea Stella—is proof that they have the winning mentality needed to keep McLaren on top.

3. Lessons Learned the Hard Way

For his part, Piastri isn’t throwing a tantrum. In classic fashion, he’s taking the “I learned a lot about myself” route. After finishing P2 in Abu Dhabi (a race that must have felt bittersweet as confetti rained down on his teammate), Piastri admitted he wished the ending was different. He went from leading the pack to finishing four points behind Verstappen. That stings. But he acknowledged that if you’d told him at the start of the year he’d have wins and pole positions, he would have taken it. It’s a mature take, sure, but you know deep down he’s replaying every lost point in his head. So, what happens next? Brown has made it clear that the “let them race” policy isn’t going anywhere for 2026. This means we are likely heading into a season where the biggest threat to the reigning champion, Lando Norris, is the guy sitting in the same briefing room. Norris himself admitted that Piastri “showed him up” multiple times this year. That’s high praise from a World Champion. With Brown firmly in his corner and a year of “almost” under his belt, Piastri is going into the Australian GP opener with a target on his back and Lando in his sights. If Brown is right, we aren’t seeing a Norris era; we’re seeing the start of the McLaren civil war.

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