McLaren’s progress is something that fans have taken notice of. They have pulled themselves out of the midfield like a crane lifts a crashed car out of the racetrack. And with the new upgrades, they have almost cemented their place at the front of the grid. Their performance at the Hungarian GP should be a good indication of how the rest of the season will progress. However, Zak Brown has given an answer to a rather controversial question that Lando Norris might not appreciate.

The British GP was where Norris and Oscar Piastri got a taste of what it feels like to be right up there with Max Verstappen. Norris might have experienced that before, but for Piastri, it was his first time. In Q3, the Australian rookie almost out-qualified his more experienced teammate. But Norris put a quicker lap and pipped Piastri for P2 by over a tenth of a second. When everything is going so well, Brown has decided to spice things up for no rhyme or reason.

At the slow relatively slow Hungarian GP circuit, McLaren‘s MCL60 was not expected to do well. But that is not what the team’s CEO’s focus seems to be on. In Hungary, when Brown was asked to choose between the two of his drivers, he chose the non-diplomatic way of going. He said that he would love to see Piastri out-qualify Norris at the Hungaroring. “He (Piastri) is doing a great job,” said Brown. 

It is the job of the team’s CEO to see that even the rookie develops to match the experienced driver. But for now, his dreams will be taking the backseat as Norris is absolutely flying in Hungary.

Read More: “Start to Get a Little Bit Nervous”: Lando Norris Opens Up on Traveling Pet Peeve That Leaves Him Sweating as a Passenger

Lando Norris Sets the Hungarian Circuit Ablaze as Oscar Piastri Struggles

Oscar Piastri had a rather confusing start to his weekend. In FP1, he was the 2nd quickest driver on the grid right behind George Russell‘s Mercedes. While Norris couldn’t match him and placed P4 in FP1, he improved considerably in FP2. And this time around, Piastri struggled for some reason. This has been a trend overall in this Hungarian GP weekend as Norris also edged out his Aussie teammate in both the qualifying & the race in Budapest.

Though McLaren was expecting their car to be not as competitive at the Hungaroring as it was at Silverstone, they still seem to be consistent. While Oscar was not way behind Lando, the Papaya outfit seemed to make their car work around the Budapest circuit resulting in another amazing podium finish for the British driver. Although, Piastri had his struggles carried over from the free practices.

Oscar looked great in the initial part of the Hungarian GP but as his race progressed with both pit stop phases, he slipped down out of the podium places. What seemed like a maiden podium finish once again slipped away like Silverstone. But this time Piastri’s pace was certainly slower than Norris.

Piastri has done a decent job so far, backing Lando Norris nicely. Though, it would be interesting if the Australian can vindicate Zak Brown & Co.’s utopian hope of matching or beating their British prodigy.

WATCH THIS STORY | 9 Months After Making “Cheating” Allegations, Zak Brown Bows Down to Max Verstappen’s Robotic Dominance