McLaren braced for Oscar Piastri-Lando Norris nightmare as title fight intensifies

McLaren CEO Zak Brown believes another collision between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris will happen "in the near future" as the F1 title fight intensifies. 

At the halfway point of the season, just eight points separate championship leader Piastri from Norris as the pair both hunt their first world title. 

Piastri is 69 points clear of third-placed Max Verstappen, meaning for the first time since 2016, an intra-team fight for the drivers' championship is set to unfold. 

Brown and his team principal, Andrea Stella had previously spoken of expecting a collision between Piastri and Norris, which finally occurred in Canada when Norris retired after clipping Piastri in the closing stages. 

Bracing himself for the remainder of the season, Brown believes further incidents "are going to happen."

"Montreal was actually a nice moment for all of us in hindsight," Brown told Sky Sports F1. 

"It just kind of took the air out of the balloon, and we got it over with, and everyone was talking about it.

"It raised everyone's confidence and comfort of: 'It has happened.'

"It was a mistake, so I think we'll see other incidents in the near future, but they will be racing mistakes, and racing mistakes are going to happen.

"We will treat them equally, fairly, transparently and with good communications, and we want it to be up to them to decide.

"If it comes down to the two of them, may the best man win, and they are both very clean drivers, and that is what is cool, is that you don't feel like one is going to run the other off the track. 

"They are going to fight hard again, mistakes will happen along the way, but it is going to be an epic battle down to the final race."