McLaren braced for Lando Norris-Oscar Piastri crash: 'When, not if'

Zak Brown feels it is just a matter of "when and not if" Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will collide in a grand prix. 

The two McLaren drivers are regarded as title favourites, with the Briton leading the Australian by just three points going into the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but the two are unlikely to collide in Jeddah, with Norris 10th after a qualifying crash and Piastri in second.

Not since Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix have two team-mate challenging for the world championship collided in a grand prix, with McLaren being in the situation for the first time since Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1989. 

The two have never previously suffered a race-ending collision, but CEO Brown believes it is "inevitable" that it will happen during the 2025 season.

"It is definitely a matter of when and not if," Brown told Sky Sports F1 of the potential for a collision between Norris and Piastri. 

"If you have two racing drivers, whether they are in the same team or a different team, that are next to each other for 24 races, someone is going to lock a brake.”

However, Brown stated it will treat the incident as a racing incident, as he expressed confidence neither of his drivers would deliberately sabotage the other.

"So I am kind of looking forward to getting it over with, because I don't think it is going to be anywhere as near exciting as everybody thinks. 

"It'll be a racing incident when that day comes, so it is inevitable. They are two great characters, neither of them are hot heads, so we are not worried about it. 

"To a certain extent, we're just kind of looking forward to getting it out of the way."