Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Zandvoort, 2025

Australia’s last Formula 1 world champion Alan Jones ridiculed claims McLaren are favouring Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri in the championship fight.

Piastri took the points lead off Norris at the fifth round of the season in July and held it until the Mexican Grand Prix at the end of last month. Norris has out-scored his team mate at every round since the Dutch Grand Prix, where he retired with a technical problem.

McLaren’s policy of allowing their drivers to fight each other for the title has attracted some criticism, particularly after the Italian Grand Prix, where they instructed the pair to swap places. However Jones firmly dismissed the idea McLaren, who are based in the UK, are intentionally favouring British driver Norris over his Australian team mate.

“No, I think it’s the greatest load of nonsense of all time,” Jones told ABC, saying similar unfounded claims had been made during previous championship fights.

Alan Jones, Melbourne, 2022
Jones defended McLaren against accusations of favouritism

“Every single season we come across this bullshit,” Jones continued, “every time.

“It’s either Mark Webber against Vettel or it’s somebody [else]. It’s always at them ‘oh he’s got a better car than me’ or ‘he’s getting preferential treatment’, it’s absolute crap.

“These teams don’t spend absolute fortunes travelling halfway around the world to stymie one car or give preference to the other. I can assure you both these cars are getting the same sort of treatment. I know [McLaren Racing CEO] Zak Brown very well, he’s a good racer, and he’d be giving both these blokes equal chances.”

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The 1980 world champion believes it’s “human nature” for some people to seek out conspiracies to explain developments they don’t like. “I think that if it was tennis, I swear to God, they’d be saying they’re giving the bloke the wrong racket or something,” said Jones. “It’s just rubbish.

“Then you get all the rare experts coming out of the woodwork, with their opinions on this, that and the other thing. Half of them wouldn’t know one end of a car from another but they’re free to give their advice whether it’s needed or not. It’s just nonsense.”

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