Formula 1’s modern era is littered with examples of front-running teams paying a big price for sticking with two equal drivers.
As recently as 2007, when McLaren fielded then-reigning world champion Fernando Alonso and rookie Lewis Hamilton, infighting saw both drivers miss out on the title by a single point as Kimi Raikkonen snatched the crown with Ferrari.
Other notorious rivalries such as Senna/Prost (McLaren), Hamilton/Rosberg (Mercedes) and Webber/Vettel (Red Bull) had less of an impact on the end result, as they took place in an era of dominance for their respective teams.
Through various scenarios, however, they still led to the teams becoming destabilised and the driver pairings eventually being broken up.
But while history would suggest having two numbers drivers fails to work out more often than it succeeds, McLaren CEO Zak Brown maintains things will be different with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will be different.
Both drivers have clinched their maiden grand prix wins before the 2024 summer break, cementing their status as elite drivers on the grid.
While Norris took an emotional win in Miami after a five-year wait, Piastri’s breakthrough win in Hungary came after Norris was handed the lead during a round of pitstops and only returned the position to the Australian at the very end, with a much-delayed position swap which took some of the shine away from Piastri’s first win.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38, go three wide into the first corner
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Norris showed regret for not returning the position earlier and the matter was addressed internally, but it was a first glimpse of just how uncomfortable things might get in the future if McLaren continues to have a car capable of securing more 1-2 wins.
Speaking exclusively to Autosport, Brown is adamant that McLaren’s team culture is strong enough to survive Norris and Piastri going toe to toe with each other, even if his own team’s history books are full of cautionary tales.
When asked why he believes having equal number ones will work out this time for McLaren, Brown replied: “Relationships, communication, and the two individuals that we have.
“I mean, make no mistake about it. They both want to be number ones and they are both number ones. We just don’t have any number twos.
“But they race for the team. They’re the types of individuals I think can…
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