The Belgium Grand Prix 2025 was the sixth 1-2 finish for McLaren, where we got to the Papaya boys battling it out on the grid yet again. This season has been nothing but absolute domination for McLaren both on the driver’s and constructor’s standings, and papaya boys haven’t been in a more than 23 points gap in the driver’s standings. Oscar Piastri is leading the standings right now with a 16-point gap from Lando Norris, who’s trailing behind in second place.
We saw both McLaren drivers battle it out at the Belgian Grand Prix, where Lando Norris started on pole position, but Piastri overtook him and maintained the lead throughout the race, eventually winning it. McLaren has been very open about their no team order strategy, which often raises questions about another potential McLaren driver’s rivalry. So let’s see what Zak Brown and Andrea Stella are saying about it.
Zak Brown On Papaya Boys Rivalry
When asked about the driver with most momentum by Sky Sports, Zak Brown said, “They both do because they’re winning a lot and getting one-twos. I think Oscar was a little disappointed with qualifying in Belgium. Lando was very happy. I’m sure he’ll be a little bummed that he didn’t win today, but it’s coming off of two wins. I think it’s going to be a coin toss every weekend. Oscar is a machine. And what’s impressive is how aggressive he is, and yet he always brings the car home. That’s quite a talent.”
When asked whether or not Max Verstappen can be counted out of contention for the world championship, he added, “I think it’s too early. It’s looking good, but Max… there’s a lot of racing left to go. We’ve got a nice gap, but I wouldn’t say we’re there. We’ve all been around this sport too long. To start dancing before you’re in the end zone is a very dangerous thing to do.”
Andrea Stella Says Papaya Boys Are Driving At Very-High Level
Team principal Andrea Stella said that their priority is to make sure both drivers have equal opportunity. He said, “There is very, very little between our two drivers, and this is because the two drivers are racing at very, very high level. We are lucky at McLaren to have two drivers that are deservedly fighting for the World Championship. I think the difference will be made by the accuracy, the precision, and the quality of the execution.”
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“We saw in Silverstone that a sporting issue for Oscar during the Safety Car restart and penalty cost him the race. In Spa, it was always going to be very difficult for Lando to keep the position, starting first at the Safety Car restart. At the same time, I think Lando didn’t help himself by not having a great gap on the finish line. So I think the execution is what is going to make the main difference,” he added
So, it’s clear that McLaren is still going strong on their no team-order strategy. It will be interesting to see how the papaya boys will battle it out for glory at the Hungarian Grand Prix 2025 just before the summer break.
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