Brown: Piastri is still not confirmed as McLaren's number one.

      "Regardless of their positions in the drivers’ standings"

      Team CEO Zak Brown maintains that McLaren is steadfast in its principles by not designating a number 1 driver for their title pursuit. Lando Norris entered 2025 as the leading contender and initially led the championship. Recently, however, Oscar Piastri has established a clear advantage, continuing his strong performance at Imola with a pole position start. Meanwhile, Norris finds himself outside the top three.

      When asked about his struggles compared to his Australian teammate in the otherwise dominant 2025 car, the Briton said, "If I had the answer, I would provide it," in an interview with Sky Deutschland.

      Team principal Andrea Stella believes Norris, at 25, is not too far off from Piastri's pace. "He’s receiving all the necessary feedback from the car," the Italian noted. "He’s just always a bit on high alert, trying to perceive the car’s signals. But if you concentrate too much on that, you can lose a few milliseconds here and there."

      Despite Norris still being a contender for the title, defending champion Max Verstappen came to his defense amid his difficulties. Meanwhile, Verstappen's team principal, Dr. Helmut Marko, sees Piastri as the clear title favorite.

      "Honestly, I think both are very talented," Verstappen told the Telegraph. "Lando has the speed; it just hasn’t consistently shown yet. However, I believe it’s going to be a close championship race for them."

      However, when a reporter noted that Verstappen qualified ahead of Norris on the Imola grid, the four-time world champion nearly revealed that he now views Piastri as the most significant threat to the championship. "I don’t think he..." Verstappen commented, before acknowledging, "Oscar is ahead of me."

      Verstappen is not backing down in his pursuit with Red Bull, particularly as the Imola upgrades seem effective. "Absolutely yes," he affirmed when asked if his car felt better than ever during Saturday's qualifying session. "Everyone knows these races are vital. Everyone aims to make progress with these updates. I just need to apply controlled pressure. McLaren remains the major favorite."

      A truly level playing field between Norris and Piastri in the drivers' title fight could ultimately lead to Verstappen claiming his fifth consecutive championship. A journalist from Bild apologized to McLaren CEO Brown for inquiring whether he was considering making Piastri the clear number 1 driver.

      "Oh no, that question doesn’t bother me at all," Brown replied with a smile. "However, some people might be frustrated with the answer since it never changes. We have two number 1 drivers. We will keep communicating this moving forward. Regardless of their standings in the drivers’ rankings, we will treat them equally because they’re both exceptional," Brown concluded.