Brown: No strategy shift for McLaren, Verstappen ‘still in the game'

McLaren may have already wrapped up the Constructors’ Championship, but Zak Brown insists the papaya squad has no plans to ease off – or to pick sides – as its two young stars chase the biggest prize in Formula 1.

The team’s CEO has made it clear that despite Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris sitting atop the Drivers’ standings, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen remains a serious threat in the title race.

After a hard-fought Singapore Grand Prix where Norris and Piastri finished third and fourth, McLaren sealed the Constructors’ crown with six race weekends still on the calendar – a testament to their relentless rise over the past two seasons.

Yet the attention now turns to an even more tantalizing battle: which McLaren driver will be crowned world champion, and whether a certain Dutchman can spoil the party.

Heading into the final quarter of the season, Piastri leads the championship on 336 points, holding a slender 22-point advantage over Norris.

Verstappen, in third, sits 41 points behind Norris and 63 off the top – hardly an insurmountable gap for a driver who’s made comebacks his specialty.

“Max is still very much in the game”

As speculation swirls over whether McLaren might impose team orders or favor one driver over the other, Brown has been quick to shut down the idea. The message from Woking is clear: no favoritism, no complacency, and no change in approach.

“While we’d like it to solely come down to our two guys, Max is still very much in the game. I think what has been key is that the team have remained so focused but also very humble,” Brown explained in an interview published on the McLaren website.

That humility, Brown suggested, is what’s keeping the team grounded even as they dominate both championships.

Despite occasional tense moments – including Norris’s ambitious lunge on Piastri in Singapore and their collision earlier in Canada – Brown suggested that McLaren’s “papaya rules” will remain in effect, allowing both drivers to race freely as long as they keep it clean.

“So, we’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing,” he said.

“Our strategy isn’t going to change because we’ve won the Constructors’, we’re going to approach the remaining race weekends in the same way we’ve approached every one before it.

“That's what we're here to do: win races and win Championships. And we couldn't be hungrier.”

From Backmarker to Benchmark

McLaren’s transformation from also-rans to front-runners in the past few season has been one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent F1 history.

After languishing near the back of the grid at the start of 2023, the team rebounded spectacularly, winning consecutive Constructors’ titles in 2024 and 2025.

Brown called the team’s rise “fascinating,” crediting the work done across every department at Woking to close the gap to Formula 1’s traditional powerhouses.

“It's hard to rank it because McLaren's had unbelievable success over the years,” said the American.

“There have been a lot of eras of dominance in McLaren’s history, and it’s hard to compare ’24 and ’25 with ‘88, ’89, ’90, and ’91, when we were winning everything.

“What I think is the fascinating part of this story is where we came from in such a short period of time. From effectively being one of the slowest cars at the beginning of ’23 to turning that around and producing a Championship-winning car just 12 months later is unheard of.

“I think that’s what makes this story unique and special – how quickly we went from being at the back of the grid to the front.”

McLaren may already have one trophy secured, but Brown’s focus remains unwavering: two cars, one mission, and one determined rival still very much in play.

Read also: Lost legend not forgotten in McLaren’s heartfelt title toast at Woking

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