Formula 1: Piastri will only get stronger after Saudi win, says McLaren CEO

New Delhi, April 29 (IANS) McLaren CEO Zak Brown believes that drivers championship leader Oscar Piastri is "only going to get stronger" following his third win of the season in Saudi Arabia.

Piastri is the leading McLaren so far this season, the Australian has a 10-point lead over teammate Lando Norris after having a strong start in the first five races.

Speaking to F1 TV following the race in Jeddah, Brown was quizzed on whether becoming the leader rather than the chaser may adjust Piastri’s mindset at all, to which he responded: “I’m here to announce to everyone (that) I think he’s only going to get stronger."

Brown then faced questions on what this could mean for Norris, who put in a recovery drive in Saudi Arabia to cross the line in fourth after crashing out of Saturday’s Qualifying session during Q3.

“We’ve got our two number ones,” Brown said of the drivers’ shared status within the team. “I think they’re equal, they race each other hard. I think we’ve yet to see them really have an epic battle – I think that day’s coming, I’m looking forward to it.

“They race hard, they race clean, so I know everyone’s waiting for that big moment. I think it’s going to be a bit of a non-event for us internally.

“We know it’s more of a when than an if. We have two great Grand Prix drivers racing hard, next to each other the majority of the time – something’s going to happen, but that’s racing, so I’m excited.”

Piastri and Norris will next have the opportunity to potentially go head-to-head at the Miami Grand Prix, an event that was the scene of Norris’ first win in Formula 1 back in 2024.

--IANS

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